Winslet excellent in `Kinky’

In “Hideous Kinky,” her first film since “Titanic,” Kate Winslet is Julia, a hippy English hippie in search of spiritual guidance from someone. Anyone. The film is far more benign than its tantalizing title suggests.

But good luck getting your guru, lady. With her two young daughters reluctantly in tow, Julia travels to Marrakech in 1972, where her life falls apart and she’s forced to grow up. Winslet is excellent here, a natural actress in a film whose staccato editing may reflect the chaotic times, but also slightly undermines the film’s power.

Grade: B

In “Notting Hill,” Julia Roberts takes the biggest risk of her career. She plays a high-wattage, super megastar, the biggest celebrity in the world.

But she’s unhappy, unloved. She itches to ditch her career, get away from the media and find happiness with a regular guy.

Hugh Grant is that regular guy. But before you start to snicker, know this: The film works. There is real chemistry between Roberts and Grant, the supporting cast is superb, and Richard Curtis’ script is better than his script for “Four Weddings and a Funeral.” Fans of romantic comedies will want to climb this hill.

Grade: B+

Chistopher Smith’s “Week in Rewind” appears Thursdays in the scene. Each Tuesday on WLBZ’s “News Center 5:30 Today” and “News Center Tonight,” he appears in Cinema Center.