jennkepka

The beauty of Luther is its drama and its casting. Joseph Fiennes did what he does best as the angst-riddled Luther, playing a complex and haunted character that filled the screen even in his quietest moments. The supporting cast was also fabulous, particularly the merry-in-the-face-of-danger performances by Bruno Ganz and Peter Ustinov.

What's troubling, then, about Luther is that the movie just isn't long enough to portray the story accurately, and therefore it feels not only unfinished but full of gaps. Things happen one against another, people come and go with little explanation, and yet the story marches on. Luther's mission is clear, but his purposes are so boiled down that only a few of his famous Theses are actually voiced in the movie. Shortening the story was obviously necessary for a movie, but in all, I think it acts against the dramatic effect of the film as a whole because things end up with a certain disjointed feel.

Still, the cinematography is brilliant and the acting nearly perfect. The film is worth seeing for its visual splendor (in both performance and sets) alone, and certainly as an introduction to a complex historical topic.

Britney Spears' debut movie wasn't half the overreach that her fellow stars were guilty of (see: Mariah Carey's "Glitter", or Mandy Moore in "A Walk to Remember"). Spears, playing sickly-sweet about-to-graduate Lucy, didn't try anything outside of her amateurish acting range with "Crossroads," and while cheesy, the movie isn't a bomb. Viewers follow Lucy and her two grade-school best friends on a road trip across the country, driven by a predictable hunky and possibly dangerous older guy (with a heart of gold). Along the way, Lucy discovers love and a talent for kareoke (who knew?), while her friends "grow" similarly from their coming-of-age experience.

The script is no less predictable than any average teenage-aimed romantic comedy (or did "She's All That?" win an Oscar when I wasn't looking?). Spears' co-stars are a solid teen-ish ensemble, with Anson Mount, in particular, pulling of a performance that was at once scornful of Spears' typical audience and endearing all the same. Dan Akyroyd is sorely underused as Lucy's father; Kim Cattral has an almost cameo appearance as Lucy's long-lost mother.

Bottom line: unlike most Britney Spears videos, this is one that's safe to watch with the kids.