Hoffman, Michael

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Imagine a work by Shakespeare reduced to one of those pretty, glossy coffee-table picture books that have only a dollop of text alongside its sumptuous photographs, and you might have Michael Hoffman's adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream. This all-star version of Shakespeare's comedy is gorgeously shot in Tuscany, complete with a magical forest, breathtaking landscapes, beautiful villas, picturesque villages, stunning period costumes--oh wait, there's supposed to be a story here, too! Hoffman hijacks Shakespeare's basic premise but doesn't instill it with much more than surface shine and transplants it to turn-of-the-century Italy. Ergo, it's left up to the actors to find the heart and soul of this classic play, in which the fairies of the forest play mix and match with four young lovers, courtesy of a magical love potion. Hoffman couldn't ask for better (or better looking) actors to play Shakespeare's dreamlike love games--Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Everett, Calista Flockhart, Christian Bale, Stanley Tucci, Kevin Kline, Anna Friel, Dominic West, the list goes on and on--but he sure as heck doesn't know what to do with them, aside from putting them in various states of undress. Only Flockhart (as the lovestruck Helena), Tucci (a sprightly Puck), Pfeiffer (dazzling and funny as the queen of the fairies), and especially the sublime Kline (as weaver-turned-donkey Bottom) seem to connect with their characters in ways that make this adaptation occasionally soar; the rest are inexplicably left to flounder. Hoffman does seem to set himself right with the film's climax, when Bottom's amateur acting troupe hilariously enacts the tale of Pyramus and Thisbe (it helps that the troupe includes Roger Rees, Sam Rockwell, and Bill Irwin). Those searching for a more in-depth exploration of Shakespeare's farce might do better to look elsewhere, but if it's gorgeous actors and scenery you're in the mood for (along with an evocative opera soundtrack), and an all's-well-that-ends-well ending, this Midsummer Night will give you pleasant if weightless dreams. --Mark Englehart

When two pairs of star-crossed lovers a troop of inept amateur actors a feuding pair of supernatural sprites and a love potion gone awry all come together in an enchanted moonlit forest the result is an unequalled mixture of merriment and magic. Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 01/13/2009 Starring: Michelle Pfeiffer Calista Flockhart Run time: 120 minutes Rating: Pg13 Director: Michael Hoffman

One Fine Day

Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 01/13/2009 Run time: 108 minutes Rating: Pg

This gentle comedy almost seems like something out of Hollywood's Golden Age, a movie that might have been made by a talented contract director, perhaps featuring Don Ameche and Claudette Colbert. But in fact it stars George Clooney as an investigative columnist for a New York newspaper and Michelle Pfeiffer as an architect. Both single parents, the two meet and bicker and develop a relationship over the course of a day while their young children play together. Michael Hoffman (Restoration) directs with a good sense of what's funny about harried caretakers and kids who do whatever they want to do. The story stretches out of shape a bit when Clooney's character has to rally to prove some point of corruption at City Hall; nobody involved seems quite up to making that subplot believable, but all that really matters about this very nice movie is the winning love story. --Tom Keogh

Soapdish

A popular soap apera is disrupted when a past character returns home from the dead to the dismay of the stars and writers. Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 01/24/2006 Starring: Elisabeth Shue Kevin Kline Run time: 96 minutes Rating: Pg13 Director: Michael Hoffman

Though this movie did decent box-office business, it was never as funny as it should have been or as clever as it thought it was. The film is set behind the scenes at The Sun Also Sets, a soap opera starring Sally Field that is suffering a ratings slump. To lure the audience back, the producers resurrect a dead character, played by Kevin Kline, with whom Field was once a lover of but is now at odds (and helped exile to dinner theater, where he is first glimpsed playing Willy Loman). Written by Andrew Bergman and Robert Harling, the script has its funny moments but never manages to string them together, despite a cast that includes Whoopi Goldberg, Robert Downey Jr., Cathy Moriarty, and Carrie Fisher. --Marshall Fine

Restoration

A fantastic premise is utterly blown in this film by director Michael Hoffman and screenwriter Rupert Walters (the two collaborated previously on the winning Some Girls). Robert Downey Jr. plays Robert Merivel, King Charles II's (Sam Neill) spirited young physician in 17th-century England. The king offers to set Merivel up for life in exchange for one small favor: marry the royal mistress (Polly Walker) to provide his highness some cover for his philandering. But Merivel blows it by falling in love with the woman, and he is cast out of his pampered paradise to reinvent himself as a serious man helping victims of the plague beyond the palace's walls. It's a superb notion, and the film looks just terrific, particularly Charles's court, where scientific and artistic innovation flourishes. But somehow the story completely falls apart once Merivel goes on his quest for salvation. The scenes aren't there, the characters are underdeveloped, the drama is clunky. The whole enterprise feels as if an editor tried to salvage a major failure and barely came up with something coherent. --Tom Keogh

Meg Ryan (KATE AND LEOPOLD) and Robert Downey Jr. (WONDER BOYS) head a superb cast of stars in this stylish and provocative story of love, power, and seduction! Robert Merivel (Downey) is a young man who seems to have everything ... until a passionate affair leads to scandal, suddenly leaving him heartbroken and penniless. But it's only after losing it all that Merivel discovers who he really is and -- with the love of a beautiful woman (Ryan) -- becomes the man he never dreamed he could be! Also featuring Sam Neill (JURASSIC PARK) and Hugh Grant (NOTTING HILL), this critically acclaimed and entertaining motion picutre won two 1995 Academy Awards(R) for Best Achievement in Art Direction and Costume Design.

The Emperor's Club (Widescreen Edition)

Comparisons to Dead Poets Society are inevitable, but The Emperor's Club achieves a rich identity all its own. In the honorable tradition of great teacher dramas like Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Kevin Kline is well cast as Mr. Hundert, longtime teacher of classics and assistant headmaster of St. Benedict's Academy for Boys. There he encounters a defiant student and senator's son (Emile Hirsch) who desperately needs--but ultimately rejects--Hundert's lessons on leadership, integrity, and the shaping of character. Adapted from Ethan Canin's short story "The Palace Thief," the film is conventional to a fault, its flashback structure unfolding in Hollywood shorthand. But its noble sentiments remain potently intact, allowing Kline a performance of great emotional nuance while imparting lessons of universal value. "This is a story with no surprises," as Hundert says, but The Emperor's Club may surprise you with its admirable portrait of a life well lived. --Jeff Shannon

Powerful and inspiring story about the meaning of honor the price of virtue and the belief that in everyones life there is that one person who makes all the difference Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 06/21/2005 Starring: Kevin Kline Rob Morrow Run time: 110 minutes Rating: Pg13 Director: Michael Hoffman

The Shakespeare Collection (Romeo + Juliet / Titus / A Midsummer Night's Dream)

A Midsummer Night's DreamA stellar cast headed by Michelle Pfeiffer and Kevin Kline bring Shakespeare's romantic comedy to life. When two pairs of star-crossed lovers a feuding pair of supernatural sprites and a love potion gone awry all come together in an enchanted moonlit forest the result is a delightful mix of merriment and magic. Also starring Calista Flockhart Stanley Tucci and Rupert Everett.Romeo & Juliet Special EditionBaz Luhrmann's dazzling and unconventional adaptation of William Shakespear's classic love story is spellbinding. Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes portray Romeo and Juliet the youthful star-crossed lovers of the past. But the setting has been moved from it's Elizabethan origins to the futuristic urban backdrop of Verona Beach.Titus 2-Disc Special EditionAcademy Award winners Anthony Hopkins and Jessica Lange ignite the screen in a strikingly original "coup de cinema" (The New York Times). "Titus" is a "wild ride" (Chicago Tribune) - a shocking journy into the depths of the human heart - a place where vengeance and passion reign supreme. A film by Julie Taymor acclaimed creator and director of Broadway's "The Lion King."System Requirements:Running Time: 427 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: Unknown UPC: 024543231622 Manufacturer No: 2233162

The Emperor's Club (Full Screen Edition)

Powerful and inspiring story about the meaning of honor the price of virtue and the belief that in everyones life there is that one person who makes all the difference Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 06/21/2005 Starring: Kevin Kline Rob Morrow Run time: 110 minutes Rating: Pg13 Director: Michael Hoffman

Comparisons to Dead Poets Society are inevitable, but The Emperor's Club achieves a rich identity all its own. In the honorable tradition of great teacher dramas like Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Kevin Kline is well cast as Mr. Hundert, longtime teacher of classics and assistant headmaster of St. Benedict's Academy for Boys. There he encounters a defiant student and senator's son (Emile Hirsch) who desperately needs--but ultimately rejects--Hundert's lessons on leadership, integrity, and the shaping of character. Adapted from Ethan Canin's short story "The Palace Thief," the film is conventional to a fault, its flashback structure unfolding in Hollywood shorthand. But its noble sentiments remain potently intact, allowing Kline a performance of great emotional nuance while imparting lessons of universal value. "This is a story with no surprises," as Hundert says, but The Emperor's Club may surprise you with its admirable portrait of a life well lived. --Jeff Shannon

Out Of The Blue: A Film About Life & Football at Boise State

Plot Summary: Out of the Blue is a documentary look at a group of high school athletes the blue chip programs didn?t want who came to Boise State University, found a first year head coach with a blue-collar ethic and a no-nonsense attitude, and went on to compile a perfect 12-0 record. Their season culminated in a BCS busting 43-42 victory over perennial powerhouse Oklahoma in what many have called the greatest college football game ever played.

One Fine Day

This gentle comedy almost seems like something out of Hollywood's Golden Age, a movie that might have been made by a talented contract director, perhaps featuring Don Ameche and Claudette Colbert. But in fact it stars George Clooney as an investigative columnist for a New York newspaper and Michelle Pfeiffer as an architect. Both single parents, the two meet and bicker and develop a relationship over the course of a day while their young children play together. Michael Hoffman (Restoration) directs with a good sense of what's funny about harried caretakers and kids who do whatever they want to do. The story stretches out of shape a bit when Clooney's character has to rally to prove some point of corruption at City Hall; nobody involved seems quite up to making that subplot believable, but all that really matters about this very nice movie is the winning love story. --Tom Keogh

Restless Natives

Two lads in Edinburgh embark on a nonviolent spree of robberies. They dress up in clown masks and act as modern highwaymen robbing coach loads of tourists in the highlands. In the process they become folk heroes to the locals. Their adventures make for a whimsical and gentle comedy in the Bill Forsyth vein.System Requirements:Running Time: 90 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: PG UPC: 012236212881 Manufacturer No: 21288