Vinessa Shaw

Many actors embrace the challenge of playing characters they might find objectionable, but few frame it in terms of "compassion for all beings." "When you practice Buddhism you have to always self-reflect and you can't avoid your problems. That makes me understand human beings better. I feel that the more I do that in my own life, the more I can see how to play a character," says Vinessa Shaw, one of the stars of "Two Lovers," with Joaquin Phoenix and Gwyneth Paltrow. "In 'Garden Party' or '40 Days and 40 Nights,' I played characters who people don't necessarily like; I just find some humanity in them."

Many actors embrace the challenge of playing characters they might find objectionable, but few frame it in terms of "compassion for all beings." "When you practice Buddhism you have to always self-reflect and you can't avoid your problems. That makes me understand human beings better. I feel that the more I do that in my own life, the more I can see how to play a character," says Vinessa Shaw, one of the stars of "Two Lovers," with Joaquin Phoenix and Gwyneth Paltrow. "In 'Garden Party' or '40 Days and 40 Nights,' I played characters who people don't necessarily like; I just find some humanity in them."

Vinessa Shaw, age 23, states with authority that "Sears was the Barneys of the '70s" ("Fictional Flashback: NBC Re-Creates the Disco Decade," by Victoria Looseleaf, April 26). Hmmm. Perhaps she doesn't remember Barneys' memorable ads from that era, back when Barneys was the Men's Wearhouse of the '70s. The only constant is Bloomingdale's--Bloomingdale's was the Bloomingdale's of the '70s! CYNTHIA A. SMITH Venice

To borrow a line from an old song, "happy, loving couples make it look so easy," and now there's a magazine just for them: Spoon. The glossy pages are clearly targeted at urban professionals with money to spend. The premiere issue features his-and-her fashion layouts, including a spread of wedding dresses (hint, hint!), tips on decorating for the holidays, and recipes for a four-course autumn feast.

If you caught the strange one-act play that was Joaquin Phoenix on "Late Night With David Letterman" just days before his most recent film, "Two Lovers," landed in theaters, it might be tempting to scratch the film off your must-see list. Don't. Phoenix's performance in writer-director James Gray's film represents possibly his best work in an already accomplished career.

The moody legal thriller "Puncture" stars Chris Evans ("Captain America: The First Avenger") as scrappy Houston lawyer Mike Weiss, a guy with a sharp mind, persuasive patter and reckless addiction to coke and prostitutes. But before we're introduced to Weiss as a tattooed motel denizen who likes to practice his trial arguments shirtless, high and surrounded by sketchy types, directors Adam & Mark Kassen offer up a brief prologue with an equally ominous needle scenario: a young ER nurse (Vinessa Shaw)

"Badland" strikes like a bolt of lightning out of nowhere. This modest-budget picture with starkly effective Canadian locales standing in for Montana and Wyoming arrives with scant notice, no major studio campaign or big-name cast, but it unflinchingly illuminates the toll exacted by the Iraq War in a raw, deeply personal and completely compelling manner.

Heck, yes, we'll be talking about: the 133rd Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. If you've never watched, let this be your introduction: It's literally like "Best in Show." And this year brings a new breed to the competition, the Dogue de Bordeaux. He's known for "balanced temperament" and "imposing presence." Also, the dog's head may be the largest in the canine world. (Monday) -- Can we talk for a minute about: Joaquin Phoenix? So he's quitting acting to be a rap star now.

While all too many recent "comedies" are so in stated purpose only, "Corky Romano" truly makes you laugh. At its best it recalls the animated antics of a Jerry Lewis escapade, the pratfall follies of a Buster Keaton flick and Rowan Atkinson's outsized physicality. Which isn't to say that "Corky Romano" is a comedy classic--rather it's a trustworthy transport that, as knowingly written by David Garrett and Jason Ward, gets you from here to there without flash or flair but with a certain charm.

A romantic comedy about a hunky guy who gives up sex for Lent sounds smirky, and "40 Days and 40 Nights" is that--but it offers more. That's because it was directed by that most subversive of filmmakers, Michael Lehmann ("Heathers") from a script by a terrific first-time writer, Robert Perez, who's in tune with Lehmann's dark, gleeful sense of humor.

The most important thing to remember about "Hocus Pocus" is not its celebrated co-stars but the traditional label it's going out under. Logos don't lie, and by releasing this film under the Walt Disney Pictures banner (as opposed to its racier Touchstone and Hollywood divisions), Disney is telegraphing that this PG-picture's heart and soul belong to the world of well-scrubbed youth movies the studio used to specialize in.