Jim Broadbent stars as Tony Webster in The Sense of an Ending. This is the story of memories, love, loss, and coming to terms with your life.

Webster is a divorced man whose daughter is about to give birth, starting a new chapter in all of their lives. He’s a quiet man who is forced to confront his past when out of the blue he receives a letter informing him that the mother of his first girlfriend has passed away and left him something in her will.

This is a surprise to Webster. He hasn’t seen his old friends in ages. When he goes to the attorney’s office to pick up the item which he discovers is a diary, he learns his former girlfriend Veronica is not going to release it. This upsets him because feels he is entitled to the diary, even though he hasn’t seen these people in many decades. Why would this woman leave him anything, and why won’t Veronica give it up?

While this is going on, Webster relates the story to his ex-wife. Through flashbacks viewers get glimpses of his life when he was in school. His four best buddies were close, for a while. One of them ended up committing suicide. All of this plays into the story as Tony relives his memories.

He tracks down Veronica (Charlotte Rampling) and when she refuses to hand over the diary – she said she burned it – she leaves something with him. It’s a letter he wrote years ago after he and Veronica split up and she became involved with his other friend.

This is a mystery that unravels slowly as the film progresses and it is not until the end when viewers understand what actually happened between them all those years ago. The movie is slow moving and at times a bit confusing, but the ending wraps up most of the confusion.

There are two behind the scenes bonus features on the DVD. The movie was based on a book and the filmmakers did their best to do justice to the popular novel. The actors and filmmakers discuss their characters and working on the movie.

Emily Mortimer, Michelle Dockery, and Harriet Walter costar in this story, however it is lead by Broadbent. Director Ritesh Batra garnered the “Directors to Watch” award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival earlier this year.

The Sense of an Ending is rated PG-13 for thematic elements, a violent image, sexuality and brief strong language.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 20 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

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A Street Cat Named Bob is the true story of James Bowen and his cat Bob. While Luke Treadway plays Bowen in the movie, Bob is played by himself, which makes for an even more entertaining and heartening story.

The story revolves around Bowen (Luke Treadway), a homeless junkie living on the streets in London. To make money he plays his guitar and sings. He is on a methadone program and supervised by a sympathetic woman named Val (Joanne Froggatt) who eventually finds him housing in a project and knows he truly wants to get his act together and get clean.

One day a cat wonders into his apartment. The two become inseparable and James even spends the last of his money for medicine for his cat Bob.

Bob is endearing and devoted. He is also a little different from any other cat. He likes being on a leash and he rides on James’ shoulders and comfortably in a basket on his bike.

Everyone loves to watch Bob riding through the streets on James’ shoulders and see him when James is singing. Soon the two are stars on the Internet. With Bob by his side, James’ income rises. He is able to buy real food for himself and Bob. And his neighbor Betty (Ruta Gedmintas) helps both of them with encouragement and friendship.

Once you watch this movie you might want to go to Amazon or a bookstore and pick up some of the books written about Bob by James.

A Street Cat Named Bob is heartening, entertaining, inspiring, and wonderful. The few short bonus features add a little background to the original story with the cast and James Bowen, and of course Bob.

You might not think of this as a noteworthy film when you first pop it into your player, however it quickly grows on you and you’ll become emotionally invested in these two characters. It is a film I have recommended to others because it is so uplifting. In reality, and in this movie, James Bowen saved Bob’s life and Bob saved James’ life. Talk about a great story. And the fact that it is based on their real lives makes it even more remarkable.

If you’re in the mood for an inspiring and moving film, this is it.

The film is not rated however due to the subject matter it is not for children.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 20 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

Follow her on Twitter

Pamela Reed and Shawnee Smith star as mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in this humorous road trip movie. Savannah Sunrise is a story filled with compassion, frustration, and love.

Joy (Smith) is a type-A personality-working woman. Her phone is practically glued to her ear. She loves her family and her work, but oftentimes the work overtakes her family time. Lorraine (Reed) is her mother-in-law who has been a widow for two years. The family is moving her from her home in Kentucky to a retirement community in Georgia. Due to a glitch in her plane reservations, not to mention in her memory, Lorraine must make the trip in the car with Joy. What starts as a simple drive turns into an epic, and very often hilarious, road trip in which both women grow closer.

With her husband and kids left to pack up Lorraine’s house, Joy and her mother-in-law begin their trip to Savannah. Joy intends on conducting business calls and getting work done on the drive, but those plans go out the window within the first few miles of the journey. Lorraine’s bladder is always begging for a restroom and Joy discovers she must stop more than she planned. So much for a quick drive.

As they continue the trip that was supposed to be an uneventful journey, one thing after another happens. Joy grows increasingly weary and frustrated with Lorraine. And when Lorraine takes them on an 80-mile side trip to visit her best friend, Joy realizes they must spend the night on the road instead of driving straight through.

With stained clothes and a woman that keeps reminding her that her children will be grown in the blink of an eye, Joy grows more irritated with each passing mile. But there is something nice about having Lorraine in the car with her. Even though her agitation rises, eventually she realizes what a gem her mother-in-law is. And when they find a baby alligator in their car, the two women finally have a memorable, albeit scary, experience over which they bond even more.

The bonus features are a behind-the-scenes look at the story and interviews with the cast. The movie was filmed on location in Georgia. This is a delightful family film.

Savannah Sunrise is available at Walmart. This story of love, compassion, and family is rated TV-G for all audiences.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 20 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

Follow her on Twitter

A Mermaid’s Tale is an entertaining story of family and enduring love. This movie will enchant the entire family.

Widower Matt (Jerry O’Connell) must move himself and his daughter Ryan (Caitlin Carmichael) from San Diego to his childhood California fishing town when his father Art (Barry Bostwick) has a health crisis. Ryan embraces her new environment with courage, but also loneliness. For a 12-year-old girl moving to a new city, and especially into the house with her curmudgeon grandfather, is a big change.

On her first day, Ryan unexpectedly confronts a young woman in the ocean, but before they can talk, the girl swims away – with her tail in tact. A tail? Could she be imagining it?

The next day Ryan returns to the dock but this time the girl comes out of the water to meet her. Coral (Sydney Scotia) is a mermaid but has legs while out of the water. Ryan and Coral become best friends. While Ryan teaches the eager mermaid the ways of humans – like shopping – Coral is increasingly enchanted by their lives.

Ryan wants to learn about Coral’s world so the young mermaid takes her new bestie to meet her family. Her grandmother Thaleia (Nancy Stafford) is the queen of the mermaids and none to happy to have a human enter their world. This could be a disaster and dangerous for them. If the humans discovered where they live, they would be hunted and put on display. But there is a secret Thaleia has been keeping and once Ryan enters her life, everything changes.

In the meantime, Art keeps insisting mermaids exist. He has been searching for them for years. He knows they are there.

When the entire story of his past is finally revealed, it has unexpected consequences.

A Mermaid’s Tale is a story of family. It is a story of friendship. It is a story of everlasting love. The cast is delightful in their roles.

When we think of movies with mermaids, Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah usually come to mind for their 1984 film Splash. The 2006 film Aquamarine also enchanted audiences, especially young girls. A Mermaid’s Tale is a little different however its primary audience is also teenage girls. It is, however, a fun film for the entire family.

The bonus feature on the DVD is a behind the scenes look at the making of the film as well as the cast and filmmakers discussing the story and the characters.

A Mermaid’s Tale is rated G.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 20 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

Follow her on Twitter

Audrey Hepburn is as adorable as ever in the fun romantic comedy How to Steal a Million. Hepburn plays Nicole, a young woman living with her father in Paris. Her father is not your ordinary man. DeSolnay (Charles Boyer) is an art forger. As a matter of fact, her grandfather was also a forger. Her father forges paintings and her grandfather created – or recreated – sculptures.

When her father loans a Cellini Venus sculpture to the Paris museum, everything seems fine until Nicole learns her grandfather sculpted the piece. The museum intends on running the usual tests to prove the art is not a fake. To keep the family secret a secret, Nicole enlists the help of a burglar, Simon Demott (Peter O’Toole), to steal the statue before the tests are run. That sounds like an easy task, but the museum has set up strict security around the presumably precious piece of art. Getting it will be quite a challenge, but together Simon and Nicole devise a grand plan.

Hepburn stands out with her fabulous Givenchy wardrobe. This woman was the epitome of style and grace in her career. She brought all her comedic chops to the role of Nicole, while at the same time looking like she stepped out of a fashion magazine. Even in a cleaning woman’s outfit, Hepburn manages to look stylish.

The plot is entertaining and the actors are enticing in their roles. John Williams (known as Johnny Williams in his early days) created a nice score for the background and William Wyler’s direction made the film a hit among moviegoers when it as released in 1966.

This is definitely a fun film with plenty of adorable scenes. A bonus feature on this Blu-ray is a featurette about Audrey Hepburn. She starred in many memorable films in her career, and How to Steal a Million is one of her stylish and sophisticated movies. The actress was nominated for several awards and was presented posthumously with a humanitarian award by the Academy. Prior to this film, Hepburn starred in the 1964 musical My Fair Lady, the 1963 hit Charade, the 1961 drama The Children’s Hour, and many more highly acclaimed films. She went on to star in less than a dozen films after making How to Steal a Million, retiring from motion pictures in 1989 at the age of 60.

How to Steal a Million is now available on Blu-ray from Twilight Time.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 20 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

Follow her on Twitter