any resemblance is purely coincidential--the biopic list!

the bio is one of many that plays fast and loose with fact. but the film is a kinetic example of what made mgm so great. the white on white sets, the silvery, ruffled costumes by adrian, the full-bodied rhapsodic music direction and a throng of stars headed by william powell.

jamie foxx rocks! i'm through. and right there with him are kerry washington and regina king as two of the women in charles' wild, vivid life.

miranda richardson made a helluva debut as ruth ellis, the last woman to be hanged in england. rupert everett and iam holm play well also as the main men in ellis' troubled short life.

john hurt and joanne whalley kilmer make an almost perfect recreation of british osteopath stephen ward and his nubile flat mate christine keeler. and the film pays homage to the wild swinging british 60s with a lot of style.

this film is tim robbins' directorial debut. it tells the story of the musical that would not be denied its first performance because of the downfall of the wpa. robbins' style owes a lot to altman in its weaving of many strands of narrative in to a whole. he runs the risk at times of losing control of his big tapestry of a movie.

vanessa redgrave came in to her own as one of the best actresses of the late 20th century with her passionate, vivid portrayal of dance pioneer isadora duncan.

halle berry beat whitney houston and janet jackson to the punch by playing dandridge in the well-done made for cable film. although she didn't do her own singing, berry acts and dances up a storm as the beautiful, tragic actress.

this is the rollicking story of the 1950s doo-wop singer frankie lymon and his life with three of the women that loved him. and though the actors are all really good at what they do, vivica a fox outdistances her cast members as the tough and wily elizabeth lymon.

bios that tell stories of non famous people are equally interesting. this one starring julianne moore as a woman with a knack for winning contests is a nice little sleeper of a film.

this film is violent at times but blanchett's performance as the brave irish journalist keeps it grounded.

this is has got to have one of the most powerful performances by an actress on record! but the structure of this film is very demanding. if you are with someone that's a talker, send them home then watch it alone. it is well worth the effort.

this film can be watched as either 1940s high style romantic drama or biopic. it's main character, henriette deluzy-desportes, did exist. but this film does not explore her so much as make a great romantic flight of fantasy of her involvement with the duc du praslin. bette davis and charles boyer are their usual brilliant selves in the leads and barbara o'neil gives the performance of her career as the unhinged, jealous duchess du praslin.

1939's version of elizabeth i and her torrid affair with the earl of essex is as fanciful as kapur's 1998 take on elizabeth's early life. but it's just as fun to watch with bette davis stamping, slashing and swatting her way through the role, flynn looking gorgeous and providing subtle counterpoint to davis' tempest and olivia de havilland in solid support.

in 1858 on a cold february afternoon, a 16 year old peasant girl was visited by a vision of a beautiful lady. the rest of the world would claim the girl saw the virgin mary and would proceed to act as such. the girl, bernadette soubirous, would eventually be canonized because of her vision but she would be remembered because of her faith in her conviction. henry king, in the style of the hollywood studio product, creates a tribute to this young woman that is undoubtably strong and sensitive. and his talents made a star of jennifer jones, who plays bernadette. an easter is not the same without this film.

how could i have forgotten this one? lili taylor is brilliant beyond belief as the tormented yet charismatic valerie solanas. jared harris is one of many fine portrayers of andy warhol. many of the actors cast as characters in their drama, particularly stephen dorff, lothaire bluteau and martha plimpton are just extraordinary! this is a fine film that equally blends lightness and stark tragedy together to make an entertaining whole.

the year don cheadle and sophie okenedo delivered their radiant, glowing performances in this film was a tough year. with jamie foxx and cate blanchett also offering lifelike reacreations of entertainment icons ray charles and katharine hepburn, it was tough. but to see their great work is award enough for the fans.

don cheadle gave a great performance in this film based on the life of a black shock jock. and the rest of the cast, which includes taraji p. henson, cedric the entertainer, chwietel efijor(i know i've butchered his name) and martin sheen gie great support to his divo-style turn.

this movie is fun only because of bette davis' cameo length slash across the screen in the role of empress carlota of mexico. otherwise, it's a numbing bore of a film. and i'm sure that it does no favor to mexicans depicting a telling moment in their history.

it is great to see condon's work before he derailed with 'dreamgirls'. i hope he gets back on track because he does best with portraying relationships that are already complex as opposed to forcing complexity upon them. the best performance in kinsey is laura linney's. she is so bright and witty as kinsey's wife. it's ashame fox ran her as supporting actress. she held court with liam neeson with her subtle yet strong work.

hayward was in much better form in the life story of singer-actress lillian roth than as convict barbara graham. but she got her just due no matter what!

hayward captured the 1958 best actress oscar for her star turn as barbara graham. graham was one of a few women that went to the gas chamber. and this film, as directed by robert wise, hints strongly that she was not guilty.

cate blanchett arrived as a star in her flamingly alive interpretation of the virgin queen in kapur's visual fantasia on elizabeth's turbulent rise to power. though she was robbed of her first oscar, she has more than proven her mettle by winning just about award out there since 1998.

leonrad kastle only made one film of note and this is it. there are flaws, but only because of his almost non-existent budget. he takes the real-life story of two spree killers and their co-dependent relationship and makes it play like the world series. shirley stoler gives the career-defining performance as martha, second only to mme. falconetti in 'the passion of joan of arc'. and tony lo bianco gets his own career off to a great start as the sleazy ray fernandez. and if you look fast you can see doris roberts in a small role!

there is so much to love in the first film adaptation of william gibson's play. anne bancroft is like steel as annie sullivan. and patty duke is uncannily good as helen keller. it is the work of an adult. the rest of the cast, which includes inga swenson, victor jory and kathleen comegys, is also top notch. the editing and the camera work are gorgeous and have such movement. penn adapted to film from the stage as easily as mamoulian. lastly, this film has one of the most beautiful soundtracks. i don' think it was ever released on disc. what a shame!

honestly, who knows what happened back then. how much of de mille's film is actually true is still a matter of argument. but colbert is a spicy delight as the queen, and william and wilcoxon are admirable leads. the highlight of the film is the sudection of antony. where the taylor-burton version is leaden, this one isn't. it is light, comic and tastefully erotic, but not to the point where cleo's purpose is obscured.