'First Daughter'

Today marks the opening of the new Katie Holmes romantic comedy, 'First Daughter.'
Samantha Mackenzie (Holmes) is just starting college, and like any new freshman, wants to have fun and experience life away from her parents. Unfortunately, her father (Michael Keaton) is the president of the United States.

Although Samantha tries to be normal with Secret Service tailing her and her fellow students giving her a wider berth, she does not succeed until she meets and falls in love with James (Marc Blucas).

If this is sounding vaguely familiar, then you might be thinking about the similar Mandy Moore movie earlier this year, 'Chasing Liberty.' While many who have seen that film will feel they can skip this one, fans of 'Liberty' will probably like 'Daughter.'

Katie Holmes has already won admirers for her work on TV"s 'Dawson"s Creek' and numerous other movie projects. Holmes seems to fit well into the fairy tale princess theme of 'Daughter,' balancing both the high class of being the President"s daughter and the yearning to be normal.

The rest of the cast includes others who have proven themselves in the teenage genre (Blucas, 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer') and those who have proven themselves in comedy (Keaton, 'Beetlejuice,' and 'Mr. Mom').

Also, director Forrest Whittaker has had a hand in creating romantic comedies; he helmed the Sandra Bullock film 'Hope Floats.'

With the high political tensions of this election season, it might be a good idea to take in this light-hearted romantic romp.

'The Forgotten'
Also arriving at theaters today is the mystery thriller 'The Forgotten,' starring Julianne Moore.
After losing her 8-year old son to a plane crash, Telly Paretta (Moore) wakes up one morning to find that no one remembers her son. All pictures, all videos, all memories--except hers--have been wiped clean. At first, others believe she is crazy, but she soon finds another person (Dominic West) who has also had his child erased from existence.

While the premise of waking up and finding whole memories merely fabrications has the potential to be psychologically interesting, the trailer blows the idea of us wondering if Telly is going insane by showing us that outside forces are in control. This unfortunately has robbed the film of any suspense it might have generated, as many in the audience already have theories on what is happening and wait the entire movie to see if they are right.

While Moore ('Hannibal,' 'The Hours') is a talented actress who has certainly appeared in more high brow pictures than this, she has yet to prove she can carry a movie on her own, especially in a supernatural thriller like this.

'Shaun of the Dead'
Just like 'First Daughter,' 'Shaun of the Dead' is, at its heart, a romantic comedy.
Only with zombies.
Shaun"s (Simon Pegg) life is in a rut. He is stuck in a dead-end job at an appliance store, he keeps antagonizing his girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield), and he lives with no real ambitions with his roommate Ed (Nick Frost). After he drives away his girlfriend for the last time, though, the dead start to rise.
From the creators of the hit British comedy series 'Spaced' (which has not made it to this side of the Atlantic), 'Shaun of the Dead' has already made a name for itself in its home country of Great Britain.
Unlike last year"s British zombie export '28 Days Later,' 'Shaun' does not want to reinvent the walking dead picture but satirize its conventions. The film also promises to contain inside-jokes for fans of the genre.
While many other zombie films, such as 'Shaun"s' namesake, 'Dawn of the Dead,' focus on how the dead rising will lead to the breakdown of society, 'Shaun' refreshingly shows how life can go on after the undead plague, with talk shows, going to work, and trips to the pub.
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