Rewind Film

The Muse

Albert Brooks' dainty, doughy new movie finds the award-winning filmmaker-actor struggling onscreen with the Hollywood blues and finding inspiration with the help of a muse played by Sharon Stone in her biggest comedic role. The premiere release from USA Films, "The Muse" --about a successful screenwriter who has creative block and frets until his more successful writer friend introduces him to the title character -- is not one of Brooks' better works (HR 8/11).



Mickey Blue Eyes

This has certainly been the year for a new approach to mafia stories, with "Analyze This" and HBO's "The Sopranos" scoring well with audiences and critics alike. Now comes Warner Bros. comedy "Mickey Blue Eyes," a routine Hugh Grant vehicle -- about an English New York auction house owner who discovers he's marrying into the mob -- that fails to measure up to its two predecessors (HR 8/13).



Brokedown Palace

A cautionary tale about naive Americans imprisoned in Southeast Asia on drug smuggling charges, Fox's "Brokedown Palace" plays more like a travel advisory than a coherent drama. The downbeat film -- about two innocents from Ohio, played by Claire Danes and Kate Beckinsale, who are serving 33-year sentences in a Thai prison -- pulls far too many punches and will probably perform better in ancillary markets (HR 8/13).



TV

VH1's first original telefilm debuts with flair, eminently watchable performances and a little too much sentiment -- but hey, it's about the 1960s, young dreams of fame and dashed hopes. The fact-based drama relates the story of Sweetwater, the first band to play at Woodstock in 1969 (HR 8/12).