Armed only with his mysterious mental connection to the feral minds of studio executives, the Movie Guru reveals just how good or bad this week's new releases will be:

Shrek 2 (PG)
That lovable green ogre Shrek (voiced by Mike Myers) returns to the big screen in the sequel to the animated box office success. After his honeymoon with Fiona (Cameron Diaz), Shrek meets his in-laws, the king and queen of the Kingdom of Far, Far Away. The royals, shocked by their daughter’s hubby and his sidekick, a wisecracking donkey (Eddie Murphy), conspire to break up the newlyweds with the help of a sword-toting fairy tale cat Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas).
Now Showing: Foothills 12, Carmike 10, West Town Mall, Farragut Towne Square, Parkway Drive-In, Midtown Drive-In

Bon Voyage (PG-13)
Secrets, murder and love affairs abound in this dramatic comedy set at the start of World War II. The swanky Hotel Splendide in Bordeaux is where the rich, poor, and everyone in between flee the Nazi occupation of Paris. A young man (Gregori Derangere) is forced to confront his adulthood, and choose between a student (Virginie Ledoyen) guided by her passions and a beautiful woman (Isabelle Adjani).
Now Showing: Downtown West

Across the Pond

Tackling culture with a level of reverence and more than a modicum of humor can prove a challenging endeavor. In Bend It Like Beckham, writer-director Gurinder Chadha draws parallels between the orthodox Sikh religion and the dedicated lifestyle of English soccer players.

Beckham centers on Jess Bhamra (Parminder Nagra), an Indian-born footballer raised in England, forced to struggle against her devoutly Sikh family for the opportunity to play soccer. While playing in the park, she is noticed by Jules Paxton (Keira Knightley), a member of England’s semi-professional women’s soccer team, and recruited for the team. Her parents’ disapproval of her participation requires her to lie about holding a job and visiting distant family members while instead playing soccer. Similarly, Jules plays without the blessing of her antiquated mother, who believes Jules should concern herself with chasing boys rather than soccer balls. In the film’s climactic finale, a traditional Sikh wedding is being held simultaneously with a soccer match. Characteristically Indian music plays in the background, and Beckham shifts from the Sikh celebration to the festivities following the game with eerie resemblance—celebratory dancing, honorees hoisted, and Indian garb equated to soccer uniforms.

On the whole, Beckham’s characters are generally believable as soccer players and wholly likable, with a tried-and-true plot that shimmers with an inventive twist and crisp, sharp dialogue.

In Love, Actually, another film set in England, Knightley is but one player in a convoluted, intricate puzzle of relationships. There are enough couples swirling around in the jumbled mix to endear each before shifting to another or introducing someone new. With its staggering number of characters, Actually keeps the audience on its toes and works particularly well for the short-attention span set. Jumpiness aside, it does work. The superb cast includes Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson and Laura Linney, and the movie is filled with enough moments to induce warm fuzzies and trigger memories of first love and excruciating crushes.

—Clint Casey

May 20, 2004 * Vol. 14, No. 21
© 2003 Metro Pulse