Movies

The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond — Bryce Dallas Howard pouts and flounces about, acting up a Southern-fried storm as unbalanced belle Fisher Willow in 1920s Mississippi. Too bad it's much ado about nothing, as this previously unproduced screenplay written by Tennessee Williams in the late 1950s probably should have remained so. Chris Evans looks fetching in period garb but barely registers as the beau accused of stealing the titular accessory. Only the great Ellen Burstyn energizes the otherwise tedious film while, ironically, bound to her deathbed as Miss Addie, who begs Fisher to end her suffering. Discerning viewers will wish she could do the same for them.

Leap Year — Will Leap Year have the magic touch to put a stop to all of the Amy Adams hate? After she rose to stardom with films like Enchanted and Doubt, fans turned
their backs on her less-than-stellar turns in Night at the Museum 2 and
the otherwise enjoyable Julie & Julia. Maybe her first time out as
the romantic lead will win some of those fans back — plus, watching her
romance Matthew Goode, hot on the heels of him hitting the hay with
Colin Firth in A Single Man, can’t hurt.

Daybreakers — Ethan Hawke and his teeth get into the vampire craze with this horror film set 10 years in the future in which the human blood supply is dwindling and the vampire race must fight for survival. This is surely a bit more adult than all that PG Twilight stuff, and Willem Dafoe and Sam Neill offer ample acting support.