"The Sapphires" is missing a lot _ detailed characters, a unique narrative arc, half-plausible scenes of the Vietnam War _ but it's got two uncommon things going for it: genuine charm and Chris O'Dowd. They are not mutually exclusive.
What is the secret to lifelong marital bliss? This question lies at the center of "Hope Springs." The new film stars Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones as Kay and Arnold, a couple that has been married for more than 30 years, and yet are romantically estranged from one another. They sleep in separate beds. They celebrate their anniversaries with purchases of household appliances and cable subscriptions. They haven't intimately touched each other for years.
Every now and then, Hollywood remembers that just because people get old, doesn't mean they stop looking for romance at the movies. "Hope Springs" is tailor-made for that subset of the aging boomer demographic who might want a cinematic experience that doesn't involve dippy, hard-bodied young stars cavorting brainlessly in a hot tub of easy sexuality.
Here's how surprisingly effective "Hope Springs" is: It will make you want to go home and have sex with your spouse afterward. Or at least share a longer hug or a more passionate kiss.
When Washington Wizards coach Flip Saunders takes his seat on the bench Saturday night to face his former team, the Minnesota Timberwolves, he knows it will be with his mother’s blessing.
When Bill Kellenberger answered the Marines' call for a few good men in 1962, he left his very used Volkswagen with his father, Kay, who continued to use it until 1968, when the odometer had recorded 325,000 miles.
