Birthday Girl - 2 stars

I had high hopes for Birthday Girl because it stars Nicole Kidman and Ben Chaplin (the English hottie from the adorable The Truth About Cats & Dogs). The acting was fine, but the story was lame. It's one of those stories where the hero has obvious ways out of the problem, but makes really stupid decisions that no one would make. It could have been surprising and thrilling, but is boring and predictable. Don't watch this one.

Erin Brokovich - 4 stars

Erin Brokovich is the true story of a single-mom who leads the charge in one of the biggest lawsuits in US history. A California town's water was contaminated by PG&E, making it's residents sick with several types of cancer and many other diseases. Julia Roberts provides the performance of her career. Albert Finney, Daddy Warbucks in Annie, is a delight to watch as the tired and socially challenged attorney. The story is extremely well told. You experience the challenges with balancing career opportunities, parenting, dating, and risks. The actual Erin Brokovich has a cameo as a waitress. An overall great film.

Gandhi - 3 stars

Gandhi is an historic film. It's certainly a good movie, and beautiful. Ben Kingsley was brilliant. The film moves surprisingly fast for over 3 hours. All of this is known.

However, as an organizer I was disappointed that they didn't delve into his motivation, challenges, and growth. One day he was a rich lawyer who suffers a minor humiliation. The next day is he leading the revolt against British occupation of India. I'm exaggerating a bit, but you get the idea. You don't know what really made him from a man into "Gandhi."