Dreamgirls

"I'm not the dream that you had before.

I'm the dream that will give you more and more."

The movie 'Dreamgirls' earned the most Oscar nominations with eight, but not any of the big glamorous ones. For instance, Dreamgirls was left out of the running for Best Picture, Best Actress and Best Director. However, it got best supporting actor nods for two of its stars, Eddie Murphy and newcomer Jennifer Hudson.

Curtis Taylor, Jr (Jamie Foxx, the Oscar winner for Ray) plays a car salesman with musical ambitions in the movie set in the 1960s Detroit when black musicians and singers were mostly pushed around by their white bosses. Curtis wants to form his own band and create a new kind of music. Spotting a group of desperate and naive young women -- Deena Jones (Beyonce Knowles), Lorrell Robinson (Anika Noni Rose) and lead singer Effie White (Jennifer Hudson, centre), Curtis begins to fine tune the team and call it The Dreams.

For the women, and CC (Keith Robinson), who is Effie's brother, a musical career seems to be the only life worth dreaming. Especially in the economically depressed Detroit where violence seems to have a life of its own. Curtis initially finesses the team a gig singing backup for a mesmerising musician James 'Thunder' Early (Eddie Murphy) who is also bidding for a bigger breakout. But seeing what the girls are really worth, Curtis soon launches them as a solo act.

There are some harsh decisions to be made. Curtis knows that Effie has a soulful voice. But he gambles on the more radiant Deena (Beyonce, left), who steps into the spotlight, just as Effie is fading away. In Detroit and across America, a new musical age is dawning. But as success embraces the Dreamgirls, there is also the bitter realization that the musical team has long ceased to be a family and it may be impossible to revive the bond.

The newcomer Jennifer Hudson (who became an international celebrity as a finalist in American Idol) presented her career-defining performance: just watch her perform the song "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going". For Eddie Murphy, whose comic talents have been exploited in more than a dozen films including the Shrek films and The Nutty Professor series, playing a more serious role is a preparation to diversify his career. Whenever Eddie took the stage, he rocked in everything. After all, the middle name of his character in the film is Thunder!'

Here is the Official site: DreamgirlsMovie.com. The movie is rated PG-13 for language, some sexuality and drug content.

Freedom Writers

Here is a story of an idealistic 23-year old Erin Gruwell as she steps inside Wilson High School in Long Beach, California, sporting a crisp business suit, a string of pearls and all the enthusiasm of taking on the world on her first day of teaching. And here is her class awaits with a diverse group of teenagers from different walks of life - African Americans, Latinos, Asians, juvenile delinquents, gang members, and underprivileged students from poor neighborhoods.

Two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank plays admirably the role of young Erin as she transforms her class from a hopeless daily routine of anarchy to something beyond their ghetto reality. Erin begins to connect with them by bringing in music from the 'Hood', and literature from another kind of ghetto, 'The Diary of Anne Frank'. Using such simple tools she opens her students' mind and eyes to the experiences of those suffering intolerance throughout the world and the struggles of those outside their own communities infested with gang violence and racial slurs.

Erin encourages students to keep a daily journal of their thoughts and experiences in their world. After sharing their stories with one another, the students see their shared experience for the first time and open up their mind to possibilities in life outside.

The film could successfully tell this inspirational true story and could wonderfully transmit every aspect of this testimony to courage, hope and the human spirit's triumph over intolerance prevalent in a complex network of human relationship. Much of the credit goes to writer/director Richard LaGravenese, best known for his screenwriting ("The Fisher King," "The Bridges of Madison County," "The Horse Whisperer," "Beloved"). "Freedom Writers" is LaGravenese's first major feature film in almost a decade. His 1998 directorial venture, "Living Out Loud," starring Holly Hunter, Danny DeVito and Queen Latifah, proved he could manage and direct a multifaceted cast, and in 'Freedom Writer' he goes much beyond that potential.

...And we also see another Oscar possibility for Hilary Swank here for the usual intensity and involvement that she could represent in screen year after year.

Here is the official site: freedomwriters.com. The film is rated PG-13 for violent content, some thematic material and language.