Bright Star

Rating: PG

Movie Release Date: September 18, 2009

DVD Release Date: January 26, 2010

Plot 411: The trying love affair between poet John Keats and his muse Fanny Braune from start to end.

Review: I really enjoyed this movie because it was able to capture a deep love affair in a very unique way. It managed to use a lot of dialogue (and poetic language) to convey powerful emotions. Granted, back then people just seemed to speak more lyrically and poetically (we're all but savages now). I haven't really studied John Keats at all but, despite that, I still knew when his poems were being used because of how the words were delivered. That's definitely attributed to the actors. It could be just me, but I really felt consumed by the love between John (Ben Whishaw) and Fanny (Abbie Cornish). Even though I knew the ending, I still found myself hoping this would work out for them. I mean, how could a perfect love - one that surpasses barriers like class status, financial situations and peer pressure - not last for eternity? Everything - from the wooing to the proclamations of love - was done within the strict social order of the day and a glance or a secret smile told a lot. Even a brush of fingers against one another became something so much more. Nowadays, this type of romance just doesn't happen. It makes me sad for today's lovers.

Watch It: For an almost perfect love affair and to perhaps understand Keats' poetry better.

Skip It: Because unfortunately it's like Romeo and Juliet - a love of a lifetime that just doesn't survive.

Candy

Rating: R

Movie Release Date: November 17, 2006

DVD Release Date: March 27, 2007

Plot 411: A love story almost as tragic and destructive as Romeo and Juliet.

Review: Dan (Heath Ledger) and Candy (Abbie Cornish) are a young couple completely in love with each other. Their passion for one another burns even brighter after their introduction to drugs. The drugs seem to make their love more intense while at the same time making them more fragile. The couple's drug habits get worse and they do everything they can to get their fix. They steal from family members, prostitute themselves and commit identity theft just to fill the euphoria of the drugs. When they learn of an unexpected pregnancy, the couple decides to quit for the baby. But after years of drug abuse that has rocked their relationship, can they be responsible enough to raise a child? This movie is the first in which I truly recognized Ledger's acting chops. Sure, he'd been in several movies by this point (such as 10 Things I Hate About You, A Knight's Tale and Lords Of Dogtown), but even after Brokeback Mountain I thought it just might've been a fluke. How could the guy who did an impromtu Frankie Valli tribute pull off this tweaker? But Ledger pulls out all the stops and is really something to watch. It was a moving and powerful performance and utterly heartbreaking to know that he's gone.

Watch It: Because despite his genius as the Joker in The Dark Knight, I think he is even more amazing as Dan.

Skip It: Because of its pretty explicit drug usage.