In The Answer Man, Arlen Faber (Jeff Daniels) is the reclusive author of “Me and God,” a book that become the new standard about spirituality for an entire generation. 20 years later, Arlen is still sought out as the man with the “answers”, though he has none (even for himself). Arlen’s life collides with Elizabeth (Lauren Graham), a single mom raising her seven year-old son, and Kris (Lou Taylor Pucci), a young man fresh out of rehab who is searching for meaning. Both Elizabeth and Kris are hopeful that Arlen has the answers, but of course we know that’s not true!

Here’s a scene from The Answer Man released just a couple of weeks ago, showing Arlen getting his first adjustment by Elizabeth:

There’s also a good interview with some cast and crew from The Answer Man available as mp3 . It has some great praise of Lauren. Well worth the listen!

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The two episodes, “Things You Never Hear” and “The Bartender Says”, aired this year, in February and in May. Jackson played the voice of Mike in the latter episode, but is not listed with a character for the second one. Here is the episode, “Things You Never Hear”:

And here is the episode “The Bartender Says”:

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This was a show I really enjoyed, particularly as the second season evolved to involve more plot lines around the sub characters.

If you’re new to the series, you can also purchase Samantha Who?: The Complete First Season and check out my past recaps.

Image © Disney. All Rights Reserved

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In Confessions of a Shopaholic, Rebecca Bloomwood (Isla Fisher) moves to Manhattan to pursue her love of shopping and her career in the fashion magazine world. She has a great flat with her friend Suze (Krysten Ritter), who tolerates her crazy ways but can’t reform her shopaholic friend, no matter how much debt she gets into! Rebecca takes a job writing a financial advice column (oh, the irony) as her “step up” to her dream job. Her articles, written for the everyday person, propel her to fame. Which would be great, except for the debt collector hounding her every move.

The movie is poignant at times. It has a classic romance, and fabulous best-friend story, and follows Rebecca as she tries, over and over again, to battle her own demons while still reaching for her dream. It takes Rebecca a long time to learn that her shopping addiction is hurting her - and it takes hurting those around her for Rebecca to ‘see the light’, so to speak.

Krysten Ritter had a larger part in the movie than I expected. Her own character, Suze, was spunky and interesting too – though in different ways. As you can tell from the photos, Suze is getting married in the film!

All in all, I enjoyed the movie. It was predictable in a Disney way, but very satisfying. A great chick flick!

Photos of Krysten Ritter in “Confessions of a Shopaholic”

Photos: Robert Zuckerman / Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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In Baja Beach Bums, a group of surfer friends are on their annual trip to Baja, Mexico. However, this year the trip goes awry when an outsider decides to tag-along. The tag-along? A cocky dot-commer who has hit rock bottom. The group of friends come to his rescue and show him how to have a good time in the “here and now.” Rini Bell stars in the film as one of the friends, Unis.

Also starring in the film are Kansas Carradine, Kenny Morrison and Tom Carver. The film is rated R.

“Baja Beach Bums” Trailer

Image: Amazon.com

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In addition, you can pre-order Samantha Who?: The Complete Second Season (starring Melissa McCarthy), which (unless the petition is successful) is the last season of the show. The DVD will *probably* contain the un-aired final episodes. Cancelled early in 2008 and also available on DVD are My Own Worst Enemy: The Complete Series (starring Mädchen Amick) and Trust Me (starring Vanessa Marano). And for those David Sutcliffe fans, don’t forget Private Practice: The Complete Second Season .

Gilmore Girls stars made SO many guest appearances on tv in the past year that I can’t name all the DVDs. But you’re sure to find the talented cast appearing in lots of your favorite shows!

Images: Amazon.com

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In Watching Pete, a shy high school student becomes the center of attention when he adorns the costume of his high school mascot, the Chicken. It all comes about when Poole (Mitchel Musso) convinces Pete (Jason Dolley) to take over his role in the costume, since he’s allergic to it. Pete agrees to do it, but his identity as the new Chicken remains a secret. Pete loves this and finally is able to “break out of his shell” and makes the Chicken an instant celebrity. Pete struggles with Poole getting all the credit. Edward Herrmann stars as Principal Fred Daly.

“Hatching Pete” Trailer

“Hatching Pete” Full Video

Image Credit: © Disney. All Rights Reserved.

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Emily Browning, Arielle Kebbel, & Elizabeth Banks in “The Uninvited”

Arielle stars in the movie as Alex, older sister to Anna Rydell (Emily Browning), a girl who is just coming home from a stint in a psychiatric ward after the death of her mother. She’s still struggling with the emotional aftermath of that trauma when, upon returning home, she must deal with the fact that her father (David Strathairn) is now living with her mother’s former nurse, Rachel (Elizabeth Banks). Alex & Anna suspect that Rachel is hiding a secret, that she’s a murderer… spurred on by the fact that Anna can see the ghosts of her victims.

The movie is less of a horror and more of a psychological thriller. Anna’s innocence makes you want to trust her, and yet you fear for how naive she is. You want to know if Rachel truly is evil. And you’ll likely really dislike Anna & Alex’s father for his decisions. I found a few of the family encounters to be very flat and unlikely, but the movie was overall fairly good with a great twist at the end. I didn’t see it coming!

The DVD special features include an “Unlocking The Uninvited” segment, deleted scenes, and an alternate ending.

View more photos & the trailer here.

Photo Credit: Kimberley French © 2008 DreamWorks LLC and Cold Spring Pictures / Paramount Pictures

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The first, Alexis Bledel (Rory Gilmore on Gilmore Girls) starred in the cult classic, Sin City, which came out on DVD in 2005. On April 21st, that movie is coming to Blu-ray! Sin City is a film noir based on Frank Miller’s graphic novel series of the same name. It weaves through several plot lines, of killers, cops, hookers and hit men, all inhabiting one very dangerous, very sexy city. Alexis Bledel starred in the film as Becky, a prostitute and spy. The 2-disc Blu-ray features 2 version of the film plus 8 hours of bonus features, including an interactive game.

The Uninvited, starring Arielle Kebbel (Lindsay Lister then Forester on Gilmore Girls), comes out on DVD and Blu-Ray on Apr 28, 2009. The film follows sisters Anna and Alex as they become entangled in a deadly battle of wills when their father becomes engaged to Rachel, their mother’s former caretaker. Rachel’s past is questionable and Anna is confronted with ghostly visions and nightmares.

And lastly is Shelly Cole‘s (Madeline Lynn on Gilmore Girls) film, The Village Barbershop. The film centers on a widowed barber who takes on an unlikely stylist at his shop, that of a young woman played by Shelly Cole. The story is about their unusual relationship in an unlikely place.

“The Uninvited” – ® & © 2008 Dreamworks LLC and Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved. / “Sin City” – © BVHE. All Rights Reserved. / “The Village Barbershop” – © 2007 Hot Shave, LLC

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The comedy, which stars Jessica Simpson in the title role of Megan Valentine, an actress who enlists in the Army when she’s down on her luck (someone steals all her money), was originally slated for a theatrical release. It was released to theaters outside the US (#1 in Russia), but went straight-to-DVD in North America on February 3rd.

Keiko Agena stars in the movie as Private Hailey (Lee) Hamamori, one of the girls who befriends Megan during training. There’s a cute scene of Keiko dancing with some of the other girls at about a minute into this preview (and keep watching for the Snickers scene!):

“Private Valentine” Photos

“Private Valentine” Trailer:

You can buy Private Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous on DVD from Amazon.com.

Images © 2007 Major Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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