Julia Roberts

Julia Roberts

Julia Roberts is one of cinema's most famous faces and she is back on the big screen this week with her new movie Eat Pray Love, an adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert's memoir of the same name.

So to celebrate the release of the movie we take a look at the Julia Roberts films that really should be in your collection.

Pretty Woman

1990 brought her the movie that really kicked off her career as she teamed up with Richard Gere, hard to believe that it's twenty years ago.

Edward is a rich and sophisticated businessman who specializes in corporate raiding - buying up businesses to break them up and sell them off in pieces. Vivian is a Los Angeles prostitute struggling with her lifestyle and a need to pay the rent.

On a business trip to Los Angeles, Edward hires Vivian to be his girlfriend for a week while he traverses the local social circles.

Love and various social complications invade their tidy arrangement and have the pair wondering if this Cinderella-story could have a happy ending

The pairing of Roberts and Gere proved to be a massive box office success as the film grossed $464 million, the most financially successful romantic comedy, easily making back it's $14 million budget.

Steel Magnolias

While it was Pretty Woman that made her name in 1990 it was Steel Magnolias the year before brought her her first Oscar nomination.

The movie was a big screen adaptation of the eighties stage show and also starred Sally field, Dolly Parton, Shirley Maclaine and Daryl Hannah.

Based on a true incident of screenwriter Harling's mother and sister. The story is set in a small-town beauty shop near New Orleans, and spans several years in the lives of the shop's owner and her customers.

Closer

In 2004 Roberts teamed up with Clive Owen, Jude law and Natalie Portman in Mike Nichols' movie Closer which looked at the intertwined relationships between four people.

Set in contemporary London, a story of passion, drama, love, and abandonment involving four strangers--their chance meetings, instant attractions and casual betrayals.

The movie was met well by the critics and went on be a financial success at the box office, Natalie Portman and Clive Owen were both nominated for an Oscar.

Erin Brokovich

It's ten years sine Roberts picked up the Best Actress Oscar for her role as the title character in Steven Soderbergh's movie.

Based on the true story of a twice-divorced mother working as a low-level secretary at a Los Angeles law firm, a chronicle of a woman, without a law degree, who takes it upon herself to fight powerful corporate forces.

Hired out of sympathy after her lawyer lost her personal injury suit, Brockovich stumbled upon the cover-up involving contaminated water in a small desert community, while working at the small law firm.

Brockovich tracks a case of water poisoning created by PG&E (Pacific Gas & Electric) and champions it all the way up the judicial ladder--becoming instrumental in rallying the over 600 plaintiffs and in helping them win the largest class-action suit of its type.

As everyone knows the Academy loves a biopic picture and Roberts picked up her third Oscar nomination and her first win for her performance.

Ocean's Eleven

A remake of the 1960 rat pack caper Ocean's Eleven teamed her up with some of Hollywood's biggest names including George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Andy Garcia, Matt Damon and Don Cheadle.

Dapper Danny Ocean is a man of action. Less than 24 hours into his parole from a New Jersey penitentiary, the charismatic thief is already rolling out his next plan -- the most sophisticated, elaborate casino heist in history.

In one night, Danny's handpicked 11-man crew of specialists - including an ace card shark, a master pickpocket and a demolition genius - will attempt to steal over $150 million from three Las Vegas casinos owned by Terry Benedict, the elegant, ruthless entrepreneur who just happens to be dating Danny's ex-wife Tess.

Coincidence or motive? Only Danny knows for sure. To score the cash, he'll have to risk his life and his chance of reconciling with Tess.

But if it all goes according to Danny's intricate, nearly impossible plan, he won't have to choose between his stake in the heist and his high-stakes reunion with Tess... or will he?

Together they produced a box office hit as it went on to gross over $450 million. They all returned for the sequel Ocean's Twelve but it wasn't as successful with the critics or with movie goers.

They always say the original is best but in this case 2001 movie does trump the original!

Eat Pray Love is released 24th September

FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw

 


by for www.femalefirst.co.uk
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