Elegy

2008

Cultural critic David Kepesh sits in his ivory tower, divorced from any romantic or familial entanglements -- until the sultry 24-year-old daughter of Cuban exiles reawakens his sense of sexual excitement in this well-acted drama.

3.3 Average Rating

Sugar

2008

After he catches the eye of a scout while playing in his native Dominican Republic, baseball prospect Miguel "Sugar" Santos (Algenis Perez Soto) is recruited to play in the minor leagues in the Midwest, where he has difficultly adapting both on and off the field. As much a story about the promise of the American dream as it is about America's national pastime, this film dramatizes the hard lessons learned when hope and reality clash.

3.3 Average Rating

Close to You

2006

Infatuated Manuel (John Lloyd Cruz) has loved his childhood friend Marian (Bea Alonzo) for many years but has always been far too bashful to tell her. Meanwhile, the lovely Marian has been carrying a torch for her ex-classmate Lance (Sam Milby). When Marian and Lance reunite, sparks fly -- forcing Manuel to decide whether he should share his long-held secret in this affecting love story from Filipino director Cathy Garcia-Molina.

3.3 Average Rating

Lost and Delirious

2001

Mary (Mischa Barton) doesn't want to attend the posh boarding school her father and stepmother have selected, but once there she quickly befriends her new roommates: the sophisticated Paulie (Piper Perabo) and the well-traveled Tory (Jessica Pare). Mary soon discovers that Paulie and Tory are more than friends -- not a problem for her. But when someone threatens to "out" the girls, the relationship ends, leaving Paulie heartbroken and desperate.

3.3 Average Rating

Proud

2004

Based on director Mary Pat Kelly's book &NFi;Proudly We Served&NFi_;, this rousing drama recounts the true story of the &NFi;U.S.S. Mason&NFi_;, the only World War II battleship with a largely black crew. Fighting racism, German submarines and a horrendous North Atlantic storm, the young sailors prove their mettle. The superb cast includes Ossie Davis (in his last film), Albert Jones, Darnell Williams, Stephen Rea, Aidan Quinn and Denise Nicholas.

3.3 Average Rating

The Late Shift

1996

Kathy Bates won a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Jay Leno's hard-nosed manager, Helen Kushnick, in this dramatization of the war between David Letterman (John Michael Higgins) and Leno (Daniel Roebuck) to replace "Tonight Show" host Johnny Carson (Rich Little). Hollywood's power players -- including superagent Michael Ovitz (Treat Williams) -- sharpen their spears as negotiations reach the boiling point amid the media frenzy.

3.3 Average Rating

The Anarchist's Wife

2008

With her young anarchist husband, Justo Calderón (Juan Diego Botto), gone for long stretches of time, first resisting the fascists in the Spanish Civil War and then in a concentration camp during World War II, devoted wife Manuela (María Valverde) struggles to keep their love alive. Her determined efforts to reunite with her husband give Manuela purpose, but their long-distance love comes at a price. Marie Noelle and Peter Sehr direct this drama.

3.3 Average Rating

Little Girl Lost

1988

This heart-wrenching story inspired by real events depicts the trials of the Brady family, who are trying desperately to adopt a helpless little girl they took in when she was in a foster care program. Clara (Tess Harper) and Tim Brady (Frederic Forrest) are in for the fight of their lives as they find that adopting Tella (Marie Martin) will not be so easy -- especially when social services puts her back into the care of her abusive father.

3.3 Average Rating

Mr. Blue Sky

2009

Greg (Chaney Kley) and Bonnie (Mary Kate Schellhardt) have always been there for their childhood friend Andra (Ashley Wolfe), who endured merciless taunting because of her Down syndrome, yet still managed to thrive. But the trio's bonds are tested when both women develop feelings for Greg. Richard Karn ("Home Improvement") co-stars in this inspiring story of friendship and romance told within the framework of an unconventional love triangle.

3.3 Average Rating

The Rosa Parks Story

2002

Angela Bassett stars in the story that sparked the birth of the modern civil rights movement in the late 1950s. Parks took the only available seat in the first row of the "colored" section on a city bus. But when a white woman boarded and the driver demanded that the black riders in her row move, everyone complied except Parks. This singular event threw Parks and her family into the Ku Klux Klan's ring of hatred -- and into the NAACP's limelight.

3.3 Average Rating

Love & Anarchy

1973

In pre-World War II Italy, the employees of a popular Roman bordello realize that a new arrival (Giancarlo Giannini) is planning to assassinate Mussolini. When one of the girls (Lina Polito) falls in love with the man, she's torn between saving him and saving her country. This is the film that put Italian director Lina Wertmueller on the map of world cinema. Giannini won a Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival for his portrayal.

3.3 Average Rating

The Luzhin Defence

2001

In Europe's heady days following World War I, grandmaster Alexander Luzhin (John Turturro) teeters on the brink of madness, consumed with the World Chess Championship -- and is also drawn to the radiant Natalia (Emily Watson) in this adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov's novel. As the relationship between the tortured chess player and society beauty deepens, Luzhin's opponents set out to rattle his psyche and sabotage his ability to compete.

3.3 Average Rating

Me Without You

2001

In 1970s London, two young girls grow up next door to each other, share secrets and survive mutual traumas. Their lives are totally intertwined, and they make a pact of eternal friendship -- which is tested as they progress through young adulthood.

3.3 Average Rating

Passenger Pigeons

2010

Set in Eastern Kentucky, this introspective drama tells four interweaving stories of very different people affected by the death of one coal miner -- including Moses (Bryan Marshall), who returns to his childhood home to bury his estranged brother. Two coal company executives travel to the small Appalachian town on business, a young married couple contemplates their future, and an activist tries to raise awareness about the dangers of mining.

3.3 Average Rating

Open Hearts

2002

Cecile (Sonja Richter) and Joachim (Nikolaj Lie Kaas), a happy couple living in Copenhagen, find their relationship changed forever when Joachim is hit by a car and paralyzed. Joachim grows increasingly bitter, and as his doctor, Niels (Mads Mikkelsen), consoles Cecile, the two become romantically involved. This also threatens Niels's marriage to Marie (Paprika Steen), who can't bear the thought of losing her husband.

3.3 Average Rating

Vanity Fair

2004

Becky Sharp (Reese Witherspoon) is a lower-class girl who uses her considerable wit to climb her way up the precipitous ladder of 1820s London society in this faithful film version of William Makepeace Thackeray's famous novel. But it's not easy for Becky, who, when circumstances dictate, must become a governess at a remote country house, where she's courted in turn by an elderly lord and his roguish son (James Purefoy).

3.3 Average Rating