■ A Perfect Man
Original Pickup line: “You wouldn’t happen to have an aspirin, would you?” James (Liev Schreiber) asks Nina (Jeanne Tripplehorn) at an airport lounge. Nine years later and living in a five-star Amsterdam loft, their perfect marriage disintegrates when she discovers his infidelity. A Perfect Man examines familiarity versus fantasy and love versus lust with a few well-staged scenes of emotional turmoil set against the gorgeous backdrop of Amsterdam. A Perfect Man asks: Are men no better than dogs?
■ Pride and Perseverance: The Story of the Negro Leagues
Jackie Robinson wasn’t a rookie when he broke baseball’s color barrier in 1947. He was shortstop for the Kansas City Monarchs, a team that played for black audiences in the age of racial segregation. With archival footage and interviews with surviving players, Pride and Perseverance gives a history of the Negro leagues, always low on funds but loaded with talent. The film’s title speaks to leagues’ spirit: the players had something to prove to the world.
■ Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth
Who would have thought that heavyweight champion Mike Tyson would become a riveting monologist on Broadway? In Spike Lee’s documentary of the Tyson show, the champ emerges from shadows to the incongruous tune of Nat King Cole’s “Nature Boy.” The song sets a disarming mood. Tyson is gracious as he reflects (with the help of a giant Power Point show) on his hard climb from the ghetto. Humor vies with anger and acceptance.
