Descendant

• As Ann Hedgerow (Grey's Anatomy star Katherine Heigl) an indirect descendant of Edgar Allan Poe begins to explore her family's past, she meets novelist Ethan Poe (Party of Five's Jeremy London). Ethan, also a distant descendant of Poe, is tormented by visions of his famous ancestor. When Ann and Ethan begin a romance, the dark and deadly secrets of Poe's legacy emerge will Poe's stories inspire a

Holly (Katherine Heigl) is an up-and-coming caterer and Messer (Josh Duhamel) is a promising network sports director. After a disastrous first date, all they have is common is their dislike for each other and their love for their goddaughter Sophie. But when they suddenly become all Sophie has in this world, Holly and Messer must set their differences aside. Judging career ambitions and competing social calendars, they’ll have to find common ground while living under the same roof. Josh Lucas, Chri! stina Hendricks, Hayes MacArthur and Jean Smart co-star in this tart and tender romantic comedy directed by Greg Berlanti (TV’s Brothers & Sisters and Everwood). In Life as We Know It, Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel discover that their closest friends have appointed them guardians of their child in the unlikely event of their joint death--an unlikely event that has just happened. Make no mistake: There's no reason this movie should have been any good. The premise is the worst kind of formulaic Hollywood claptrap; the pleasant but cautious Heigl (Knocked Up) is playing yet another uptight fussbudget; since a promising movie debut in the underrated Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!, Duhamel has largely coasted on his looks in tripe like the Transformers movies--yet Life as We Know It is surprisingly likable. After the movie gets through the basic exposition--and navigates some radical shifts in tone with unexpected deftness--t! he script somehow manages to make its clichés into something ! resembli ng real human situations. The colorful supporting characters are all entertainingly written and well played by a solid cast. And both Heigl and Duhamel give understated, engaging performances that manage to make the inevitable conclusion seem almost not inevitable. Director Greg Berlanti (The Broken Hearts Club) deserves kudos for skillfully balancing humor and pathos and turning this unpromising material into a sincere and enjoyable movie. --Bret FetzerKatherine Heigl and Gerard Butler star in this wildly funny battle of the sexes. Abby (Heigl), a successful morning show producer, is looking for a lot in a man. Mike (Butler), her obnoxious TV star, knows men only want one thing. Determined to prove that she's not romantically challenged, Abby takes Mike's advice during a promising new romance, but the unexpected results will stun everyone.Katherine Heigl further cements her reputation as one of film's most dazzling, and go-to, romantic comedy heroines. In T! he Ugly Truth she brings her deft comic timing and true vulnerability to a film that avoids clichés, successfully, all the way until the surprising, quiet end. Heigl's partner in crime--and at first, in pure hatred--is the rakishly charming Gerard Butler. Heigl plays Abby, a career-bound TV producer, and Butler is Mike, an outrageous dude's dude whose public access show about what men want (one thing only) makes him so popular that he's hired to work alongside Abby, who naturally chafes at everything Mike stands for. Yet The Ugly Truth could not be more unpredictable, and men as well as women will like the refreshing story line and the crisp direction by Robert Luketic (Legally Blonde, Monster-in-Law). Both lead actors put their all into their performances, and the nuance and depth makes The Ugly Truth not just a great date-night film, but a transportive testament on the primal human urge simply to connect. The Ugly Truth is more than! a little raunchy, and it deserves its R rating, but there's h! ilarity in its crudeness. The supporting cast includes the delightful Cheryl Hines and John Michael Higgins as a tensely married couple forced to appear together on TV. And Eric Winter (Brothers & Sisters) is dreamy as Abby's potential love-match--as long as she doesn't have to be herself. The DVD includes mostly forgettable deleted and extended scenes, but also a gag reel that shows that the cast had every bit as much fun creating the film as the viewer has watching it. The Ugly Truth has never shined so brightly. --A.T. Hurley




Stills from The Ugly Truth (Click for larger image)

Gerard Depardieu (GREEN CARD) stars as an overprotective father who lands in hot water when his overactive teenage daughter gets in over her head at a tropical vacation resort! Soon, the mischievous teen is getting dad in big, big trouble -- hurling him into on! e madcap misadventure after another. Combining uproarious come! dy and a beautiful island setting, MY FATHER,THE HERO, simply overflows with nonstop fun in the sun. Discover for yourself the comedy hit that left critics and audiences alike drowning with laughter.He’s tall, dark and handsome with a hint of mystery. What more does Jen (Katherine Heigl) need to know about Spencer (Ashton Kutcher), the man who’s just swept her off her feet down in the French Riviera? Well, maybe that he’s a professional spy whose special talent is assassination. But no matter, neither bullets nor bombs nor bad guys with big guns can keep these two from living happily ever after â€" if they can get through the day alive â€" in the outrageous romantic hit comedy that will slay you.Killers has been murdered by most film critics, and the box-office receipts haven't been too impressive either. But that's kind of a bad rap. Granted, it isn't likely to make many year's best (or even month's best) lists, but this is an entertaining little diversion that at the ! very least offers an appealing cast, a few laughs, and some cool chase scenes. Katherine Heigl plays Jen, who, having recently been dumped by her boyfriend, is vacationing in Nice with her parents (Tom Selleck and Catherine O'Hara). Enter Spencer (Ashton Kutcher), a hired assassin (hey, it's a comedy) who happens to be on the scene for a job. The couple's cutesy flirting turns into a romantic dinner, which leads to some heavy drinking… and before you know it, Spencer has renounced the killing gig, married Jen, and moved back to her hometown in the States, where he becomes a "corporate consultant." Three years later his past catches up to him, as we knew it would, and a seemingly limitless array of hired guns emerges from the woodwork, intent on collecting the $20 million bounty that's been put on Spencer's head. Exactly why this is, and who's responsible for it, are secrets revealed only at the end, although perspicacious viewers will no doubt have seen it coming. In the ! meantime, Spencer's revelation of who he really is and Jen's r! eaction to it are mildly reminiscent of the Arnold Schwarzenegger-Jamie Lee Curtis relationship in True Lies, as issues of trust, safety, and Jen's newly discovered pregnancy complicate Spencer's attempts to keep the two of them alive while he tries to figure out what's going on. Director Robert Luketic displays a sure hand during the action sequences, but he's working with a thin script and a pair of attractive young actors whose chemistry doesn't exactly burn up the screen. Those are serious drawbacks, but all in all, there are far worse ways to kill a couple of hours than watching Killers. --Sam GrahamKatherine Heigl (Knocked up, TV's Grey's Anatomy) lights up the screen in this charming romantic comedy from the screenwriter of The Devil Wears Prada." Heigl stars as Jane, a romantic, completely selfless woman who has been a bridesmaid in no less than 27 weddings. Unfortunately her own happy ending seems to be nowhere in sight. Until her younger sister Tess ca! ptures the heart of Jane's boss -- on whom Jane has a secret crush inspiring Jane to change her "always-a-bridesmaid" destiny.Katherine Heigl is delightful as Jane, a self-effacing Gal Friday so addicted to organizing weddings in her off time, that 27 Dresses opens with her character juggling two nuptials on the same night. A perpetual bridesmaid, Jane’s hobby is discovered by a matrimony reporter named Kevin (James Marsden), who hides a romantic side behind his wall of cynicism. While Kevin gradually develops feelings for Jane, the latter’s superficial sister, Tess (Malin Akerman), pursues George (Edward Burns), Jane’s boss and the object of her love. This romantic circle could go on forever, except that Jane is unexpectedly moved by Kevin despite her general irritation with him and without knowing that he’s on the verge of sandbagging her with a ridiculing article in his newspaper. The situation is absurd, but the emotions are not. Heigl is very good, roote! d in a long tradition of comely comediennes playing characters! who fly under the radar of life. She makes Jane’s pain palpable and conveys her character’s inability to say no without making her look unappealing or weak. Marsden perfectly captures the part of a rumpled, underdressed writer with repressed passions, Akerman is as convincingly shrewish here as she was in The Heartbreak Kid, and Burns is fine as one of those guys so busy saving the world he barely pays attention to the people in his life. The script by Aline Brosh McKenna (The Devil Wears Prada) is fun if predictable, and Anne Fletcher’s direction is vibrant. --Tom Keogh

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Based on Janette Oke's best-selling book series, and directed by Michael Landon Jr., Loves Comes Softly is inspired story-telling for the whole family. Marty and Aaron Claridge (Katherine Heigl and Oliver Macready) travel west in search of new opportunity. But when tragedy strikes and Marty is suddenly widowed, the young woman must face the rugged terrain, bleak weather, and life among strangers-alone. That is until a handsome widower named Clark Davis ( Dale Midkiff) suggests a platonic "marriage of convenience" until Marty can return home. As the months pass, through, Marty and Clark discover an unexpected new love where there was once only loss.Writer/director Michael Landon Jr. continues in his famous father's footsteps by creating moral family entertainment set in the early days of the American prairie. Stubborn Marty Claridge (Katherine Heigl, Grey's Anatomy) travels west with he! r new husband--but after they find a beautiful patch of land, her husband dies in an accident before they've even started building. A man named Clark (Dale Midkiff, Air Bud: World Pup) makes a proposal: If Marty will enter into a platonic marriage with him, he'll pay for her passage back east in the spring. What Clark needs is a mother, however temporary, for his willful tomboy daughter Missie (Skye McCole Bartusiak, Beyond the Prairie, Part 2). Missie fights Marty's presence fiercely while Clark, though supportive, speaks few words, and Marty suspects she's made a terrible mistake--but time reveals otherwise. Love Comes Softly, based on the popular Christian novel by Janette Oke, is a romance, but Landon carefully avoids any bodice-ripping histrionics. Problems get solved perhaps a little too easily, but the movie is cleanly written, pleasantly understated, and respectful to its characters. For many viewers, Love Comes Softly will be a welcome c! hange from overheated secular love stories. --Bret FetzerEmmy-w inner Katherine Heigl (TV's "Grey’s Anatomy" and Knocked Up), is a twenty-something career girl whose landed the perfect job. As she moves up the corporate ladder, she starts to really enjoy the perks of success - a company car, a big raise, and a closet full of great clothes. But when the man of her dreams comes into the picture, she must find a way to balance love, career, friends and family, or risk losing them all to protect the job she's always wanted.A well-intentioned film about a young pharmaceutical rep who is torn between earning a good living and living a good life, Side Effects tells the story of Karly Hert, portrayed by Katherine Heigl (Grey's Anatomy, Roswell), who also executive produced the project. Karly works for a company whose motto is "To protect and prolong life." But what they really mean is prolong their own) lives by making as much money as possible. Based on writer-director Kathleen Slattery-Moschkau's previous career a! s a legal pill pusher, Side Effects is a comedy with an agenda. Its goal is to educate viewers about the dangers of an uneducated sales force telling doctors which drugs to prescribe--regardless of the side effects. While Slattery-Moschkau is heavy handed in her delineation of who is good (the patients) and evil (the drug reps), her semi-autobiographical Karly is relatable. When we meet her, Karly has no patience with her pod-like boss. When her employer rhetorically asks, "How do you think I ended up in management?" Karly zings back, "There are rumors." But as she herself moves up in the company and earns expensive perks, Karly is seduced. Heigl gives an earnest, likable performance, especially during scenes with Lucian McAfee, who plays her boyfriend Zach. While her Norma Rae moment at the end of the film doesn't ring quite true, it gives the movie a fitting ending that ties together all the loose ends. --Jae-Ha KimThe writer and director of The 40-Year-O! ld Virgin delivers a hilarious hit comedy that the New York Po! st calls "Brilliant." They say that opposites attract. Well, for slacker Ben (Seth Rogen) and career girl Alison (Katherine Heigl), that's certainly the caseâ€"at least for one intoxicated evening. Two months and several pregnancy tests later, Ben and Alison go through a hysterically funny, anxious and heartwarming journey that The New York Times calls "an instant classic."

Unwanted pregnancy might sound like a risky subject for slapstick comedy, but Knocked Up is from writer-director Judd Apatow--so we are in the hands of a man who likes to push things. And like Apatow's predecessor, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up is a shaggy crowd-pleaser, a comedy strewn with vulgarity but with a sweet heart at its center. A one-night stand between the utterly mismatched Ben (Seth Rogen, his first starring role) and Alison (Katherine Heigl) results in said pregnancy, and the two people reunite for mutual support--even though they barely know each other. Ben's a slob! who lives with four other guys, all of whom share the same stunted approach to maturity; Alison is a new on-air personality at the E! channel. That these two eventually develop a shared understanding and affection is perhaps the movie's biggest stretch (some of the male-humor jokes amongst the guys are idiotic enough to test anybody's hope of civilizing them).

Rogen and Heigl don't really jump off the screen, but, to be fair, the movie frequently needs them to play straight while the supporting cast cuts up. Virgin vets Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd are around to supply some humor, as Alison's sister and brother-in-law, and the four idiots who live with Ben (Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, Jason Siegel, and Martin Starr) are in their own zone of sophomoric bad taste. Still, by 40-Year-Old Virgin standards, this movie doesn't explode, and it sometimes feels ramshackle to the point of not being thought out. Apatow's indulgence of actors creates some fine moments ! (Paul Rudd seems to have most of them), but it can also make a! movie f eel flabby, and this one is overlong by the length of a belly. --Robert Horton

As Ann Hedgerow (Grey's Anatomy star Katherine Heigl) - an indirect descendant of Edgar Allan Poe - begins to explore her family's past, she meets novelist Ethan Poe (Party of Five's Jeremy London). Ethan, also a distant descendant of Poe, is tormented by visions of his famous ancestor. When Ann and Ethan begin a romance, the dark - and deadly - secrets of Poe's legacy emerge...will Poe's stories inspire a real-life horror-tragedy?