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What stands out first about Hollywood Ending is the confidence with which Woody Allen establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Hollywood Ending asks Woody Allen and Téa Leoni to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Hollywood Ending is established with useful clarity: A director is forced to work with the ex wife who left him for the boss of the studio bankrolling his new film. That direct approach lets Hollywood Ending use

What stands out first about The Magdalene Sisters is the confidence with which Peter Mullan establishes its drama identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, The Magdalene Sisters asks Eileen Walsh and Dorothy Duffy to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of The Magdalene Sisters is established with useful clarity: Three young Irish women struggle to maintain their spirits while they endure dehumanizing abuse as inmates of a Magdalene Sisters Asylum. T

What stands out first about Slackers is the confidence with which Dewey Nicks establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Slackers asks Devon Sawa and Robert B. Martin Jr. to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Slackers is established with useful clarity: When geeky Ethan discovers three fellow students scamming the examination system, he blackmails them to win over the college's most popular girl. That direct approach lets S

What stands out first about The Truth About Charlie is the confidence with which Jonathan Demme establishes its thriller identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, The Truth About Charlie asks Mark Wahlberg and Thandiwe Newton to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of The Truth About Charlie is established with useful clarity: A woman returns from holiday to find her husband has been murdered, and several groups of people are pressuring her to unrave

What stands out first about The Crime of Padre Amaro is the confidence with which Carlos Carrera establishes its romance identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, The Crime of Padre Amaro asks Gael García Bernal and Ana Claudia Talancón to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of The Crime of Padre Amaro is established with useful clarity: Politics and sexual passions threaten to corrupt a young, newly ordained priest in a small Mexican town. That dir

What stands out first about Spellbound is the confidence with which Jeffrey Blitz establishes its documentary identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Spellbound asks Angela Arenivar and Ubaldo Arenivar to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Spellbound is established with useful clarity: Follows eight teenagers on their quest to win the 1999 National Spelling Bee. That direct approach lets Spellbound use its 1h 37m running time for character, at

What stands out first about Real Women Have Curves is the confidence with which Patricia Cardoso establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Real Women Have Curves asks America Ferrera and Lupe Ontiveros to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Real Women Have Curves is established with useful clarity: In East Los Angeles, an 18 year old struggles between her ambitions of going to college and the desires of her domineering moth

What stands out first about Deuces Wild is the confidence with which Scott Kalvert establishes its action film identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Deuces Wild asks Stephen Dorff and Brad Renfro to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Deuces Wild is established with useful clarity: Bobby, a member of The Deuces, and the sister of the rival Vipers member fall in love, promoting a street war between the two factions. That direct approach lets D

What stands out first about Rabbit Proof Fence is the confidence with which Phillip Noyce establishes its biographical drama identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Rabbit Proof Fence asks Everlyn Sampi and Tianna Sansbury to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Rabbit Proof Fence is established with useful clarity: In 1931, three half white, half Aboriginal girls escape after being plucked from their houses to be trained as domestic staff, and

What stands out first about The Rules of Attraction is the confidence with which Roger Avary establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, The Rules of Attraction asks James Van Der Beek and Ian Somerhalder to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of The Rules of Attraction is established with useful clarity: The incredibly spoiled and overprivileged students of Camden College are a backdrop for an unusual love triangle between a dr

What stands out first about Femme Fatale is the confidence with which Brian De Palma establishes its thriller identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Femme Fatale asks Rebecca Romijn and Antonio Banderas to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Femme Fatale is established with useful clarity: A woman tries to straighten out her life, even as her past as a con woman comes back to haunt her. That direct approach lets Femme Fatale use its 1h 54m run

What stands out first about Séraphin: Heart of Stone is the confidence with which Charles Binamé establishes its drama identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Séraphin: Heart of Stone asks Pierre Lebeau and Karine Vanasse to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Séraphin: Heart of Stone is established with useful clarity: A young woman is forced to marry an old greedy man to save her father from bankruptcy although she has promised her heart to a