Romance, history, thrills on the movie bill

JAKARTA (JP): Need an escape on the weekend but a trip out of the city not on the cards?

Movies may offer a diversion, with an array of action, comedy, drama and historical romances on the bill at local theaters.

Here are summaries of some of the celluloid offerings.

Shakespeare in Love. Cast: Gwyneth Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes. Director: John Madden.

With 13 nominations for Sunday's Oscars, the highly acclaimed romantic comedy takes one of English literature's great mysteries -- Shakespeare's whereabouts in his twenties -- and speculates that he was waiting for a muse to inspire him.

Beautiful and aristocratic heiress Viola (Paltrow) inspires the English playwright (Fiennes) to change a play he is writing, Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter, into a romantic one, Romeo and Juliet.

Firelight. Cast: Sophie Marceau, Stephen Dillane and Dominique Belcourt. Director: William Nicholson

With the mid-19th century as its setting, Firelight concerns British aristocrat (Dillane) who faces family pressure over the need for an heir but his wife is severely ill.

He offers a 5,000 payment to anyone willing to be a surrogate mother. Elisabeth (Marceau) comes forward to help her father pay off his debts.

Years later, Elisabeth shows up as new governess for her seven-year-old-daughter Louisa (Belcourt), who has grown up to be a spoiled brat.

I Still Know What You Did Last Summer. Cast: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze Jr. and Brandy Norwood. Director: Danny Cannon.

The sequel to I Know What You Did Last Summer brings back beleaguered heroine Julie James (Hewitt), a year after she spent a frightening summer enduring the brutal murders of her high school friends.

Although still haunted by nightmares, Julie is leading a normal life studying at college in Boston.

But her tranquility is shattered when an old enemy, fishermen Ben Willis (Muse Watson), turns her free vacation in the Bahamas with her best friend Karla Wilson into another killing spree.

Enemy of the State. Cast: Will Smith, Gene Hackman, Jon Voight and Lisa Bonet. Director: Tony Scott.

Attorney Clayton Dean (Smith) has a brief encounter with a friend which turns deadly. He is framed for murder by a corrupt intelligence official, Brian Reynolds (Voight), who is trying to eliminate evidence implicating him in the death of a U.S. congressman.

Dean's only hope to prove his innocence lies in the hands of a man he never met, a mysterious underground information broker and ex-intelligence operative known only as Brill (Hackman).

Waterboy. Cast: Adam Sandler, Kathy Bates and Herry Winkler. Director: Frank Coraci

Bobby Boucher (Sandler), a socially inept 31-year-old from the Louisiana swamps has grown up overprotected by his mama (Bates).

His only contact with society is his waterboy job for a college team, where the players cruelly make fun of him while the team's coach does not let him fight back.

It all changes when Bobby gets a new coach (Winkler), who transforms him into the most powerful tackler on the team.

Stepmom. Cast: Julia Roberts, Susan Sarandon and Ed Harris. Director: Chris Columbus.

Columbus, who has brought to the screen originals like Mrs. Doubtfire and Home Alone, returns with Stepmom.

For Isabel (Roberts), a trendy fashion photographer, her life is running just fine until she has to be stepmom to her boyfriend's two children, 12-year-old Anna (Jena Malone) and seven-year-old Ben (Liam Aiken).

Her efforts to win over the children's hearts are painful as she also has to deal with their real supermom Jackie (Susan Sarandon). (ste)