Kathmandu:

Johnny Depp and director Laurence Dunmore screenwriter Stephen Jeffreys and the always spot-on John Malkovich deliver a brilliant but excitingly vulgar, raunchy, edgy film in The Libertine.

Says Johnny Depp, “For me, Rochester was a great poet and an overlooked poet. He was really, really important in terms of British literature.”

Bret Fetzer opines, “The Libertine captures the lush costumes, extravagant decor, and remarkable filth of Restoration England. John Wilmot, the Earl of Rochester (Depp) warns the audience at the very beginning of the film that they will not like him. From there, he treats his wife cruelly, drinks to relentless excess, abuses his friendships, and generally wallows in dissipation, much to the dismay of King Charles II (John Malkovich) who hopes that Rochester will write a play glorifying his reign. But Rochester finds his true inspiration when he sees a young actress named Lizzie Barry (Samantha Morton). Rochester sets out to make her the greatest actress of their time — and she, with some reluctance, submits to his teaching. Morton is superb, Malkovich gives a typically insidious turn, and Depp, as always, finds moments of sad poetry in the bitterest of speeches.”

Rumor Has It is hilarious despite the fact that it deals with serial incest, love, marriage and The Graduate’s Mrs Robinson superbly played by Shirley MacLaine. With a cast that includes Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Costner, Shirley MacLaine, and Mark Ruffalo. The story is gently funny and a chick flick of which Ryan Devlin from Premiere Magazine says, “A journalist named Sarah (Aniston) who puts her wedding plans on hold to investigate a claim that her family may have been the inspiration for The Graduate. Much to her surprise, Sarah’s quest leads her to an Internet millionaire (Costner) who bedded both her grandmother (MacLa-ine) and mother (now rolling in her grave). “It’s kind of a reverse parallel. Here, you have the Ben character falling for a younger wo-man,” says director Reiner, who cautions that this isn’t a sequel to the 1967 classic.

Do not expect the riotous Peter Seller-Blake Edwards hilariousness in the Steve Martin remake of the classic Pink Panther. Comparisons can’t apply because Martin makes the historical Inspector Clouseau his own character for a new generation and the laughs are plentiful.

Says critic John Migliore, “It’s a minor miracle, then, that this new adventure with the hapless Inspector Clouseau has turned out to be one of the most uncomplicatedly hilarious movies in quite some time. The plot that Martin and writer Len Blum came up with concerns a big pink diamond. Several people want it and may have committed murder to get it. Kevin Kline’s unctuous Commissioner Dreyfus places the staggeringly inept Clouseau (Martin) on the case, giving the media someone to chase after while Dreyfus himself attends to solving the crime. Needless to say, before long, the worm has turned.

There’s at least one good guffaw in every scene, and generally many more than that. The recurring bits are trotted out just enough that they don’t wear out their welcome. And the few that don’t come off are helped by the fact that 10 better gags follow right behind. Jean Reno shows up as Clouseau’s sidekick, conveying more with his hangdog expression than other actors could with pages of dialogue. The sexy international pop star who gets mixed up in the action is played, in a triumph of offbeat casting, by Beyoncé, acquitting herself nicely. This movie will make you laugh early and often, and send you out of the theater in a cheerful mood. And, really, what more could you ask?”