DRIVE’s Danish director, Nicolas Winding Refn (Pusher, Bronson, Valhalla Rising) propels his winning streak with Hossein Amini’s screenplay based on James Sallis’s book. In the opening sequence, topping off a warehouse heist, an unnamed and anonymous movie stunt man (Ryan Gosling) shows off his real talent — driving the getaway car with the skill of a speed racer. Into his isolated life comes Irene (Carey Mulligan), a sweet single mom with a jailed husband (Oscar Isaac) who attempts to go straight after he is released. When things go awry over an unpaid debt and a botched robbery, garage owner Shannon (Bryan Cranston), vile criminal Nino (Ron Perlman), and deceptively sincere money man Bernie (Albert Brooks, astonishing) prove more adept at piling up bodies than at retrieving the money piled up in the trunk of Gosling’s car. For those who prefer a dining get- away, these spots will rev your engine, so buckle up and Vroom! Vroom! Vroom!

Oliver Schmitz brings Allan Stratton's best-selling novel, Chanda’s Secrets, to the screen in the heart-rending Life, Above All.

THE TOURIST is Frank (Johnny Depp), a naïve American who is nursing a broken heart on a spur of the moment trip to Europe.

Woody Allen’s YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER is darkly delicious. Adrift in despair after Alfie (Anthony Hopkins), her husband of 40 years, leaves her to reclaim his youth, gullible Helena (Gemma Jones) finds reassurance in the overly sunny predictions of a fortune teller. Meanwhile, her daughter Sally (Naomi Watts); Sally’s husband, Roy (Josh Brolin), neighbor Dia (Freida Pinto); and Sally’s boss, Greg (Antonio Banderas), try to reconcile their personal failures by obsessively pursuing their dreams. Helena, the least likely to succeed, is the only one who does. For the others, the only “tall dark stranger” in their futures will likely be the foreboding figure who awaits us all. For you, dear readers, read on to fulfill your culinary dreams — we predict the next tall dark stranger you meet will be a chef.

EAT PRAY LOVE, directed by Ryan Murphy, screenplay by Ryan Murphy and Jennifer Salt, based on the book by Elizabeth Gilbert. After a divorce, Liz Gilbert (Julia Roberts) leaves ex-husband (Billy Crudup) and lover (James Franco) in New York and embarks on a daring journey of self-discovery. Eating in Italy she learns the joy of simple pleasures; meditating at an ashram in India she discovers the power of prayer; and in Bali she finds inner peace, friendship (Richard Jenkins, Viola Davis), and love (Javier Bardem). The film doesn’t open till August but you can start eating, praying, and loving, Venice-style, right now.

Hardcore foodies revere May because it is National Hamburger Month, but most Americans zero in on Mother’s Day, the second Sunday of the month, when we honor our mothers and, more broadly, those who “mother.” MOTHER AND CHILD is writer-director Rodrigo Garcia and executive producer (and Venice resident) Alejandro González Iñárritu’s three-pronged tale of adoption and its effects on Karen (Annette Bening), who surrendered but can never forget the baby she bore as a teenager; Elizabeth (Naomi Watts), an adoptee whose ability to form meaningful relationships is blocked by a need to confront the mother who gave her up; and Lucy (Kerry Washington), an infertile woman who finds fulfillment in mothering another woman’s child. Stories like this are too often cloying and melodramatic but here the mother-daughter relationship touches your heart without wringing it out to dry. A real life mother-daughter relationship that touched my heart over the years was the one between Venice publisher/ editor Nancy Bishop and her beloved mom. In the last few years, as her mother clung to life, Nancy clung to her, flying to Washington to be with her at a moment’s notice. The grief that follows such a profound loss is a measure of the magnitude of the special relationship they shared. Here’s to all women who are mothering, whether or not they are mothers. Following are ways to honor them, each in its own special way.

L.A. is a party town serviced by people surviving on tips while they dream of future glory, just like the catering crew from PARTY DOWN (Henry/Adam Scott; Ron/Ken Marino; Casey/Lizzy Caplan; Kyle/Ryan Hansen; Roman/Martin Starr; and, new this season, stage mother Lydia/Megan Mullally). Bryan Gordon and Fred Savage take turns directing dark-edged episodes such as Jackal Onassis Backstage Party, Nick Dicintio's Orgy Night, and Steve Guttenberg's Birthday. Executive Producers/ Co-Creators John Enbom, Rob Thomas, Dan Etheridge and Paul Rudd rely on smart dialogue and penetrating wit to serve up a smorgasbord of chuckles. Here’s a toast to “Party Down”!

Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass (Bourne Ultimatum, etc.) blast us into the Green Zone, the protected International Zone in central Baghdad. It’s 2003 and chaos reigns as Damon’s U.S. Army officer and his team encounter bombs and booby-traps in their hunt for weapons of mass destruction. When they realize they’ve been fed faulty intelligence, Damon goes rogue to get to the truth and avert an unnecessary war. To escape the pandemonium of Los Angeles, head for our own Green Zone, a vibrant oasis carved out of the parched desert that surrounds Las Vegas. This conglomeration of glitzy casinos, entertainment spectacles, eye-popping designer shops and 9,000 square foot “villas” that rent for $25,000 a night has so many Los Angeles chefs it’s hard to know which town you’re in. Here’s a sure-bet guide for people who prefer to do their gambling in a casino rather than a restaurant.