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One of America's most talented Country Western groups, the Dixie Chicks, has released a movie that seeks to determine what ever happened to one of our country's fundamental tenets, that of free speech. It is something the three singers have wondered about it for the better part of three years.

Once one of the most popular country music groups in America, the film features the trio of ladies as they experience the backlash that often accompanies political dissent. The ostracized group moved from the top of the music world to also ran status after one member of the group uttered a rather innocuous comment, at least by American standards. It was back in 2003, on a London stage, that Dixie Chick Natalie Maines offered a somewhat pointed, albeit mild opinion of President Bush. The singer offered the comment that she was ashamed President Bush was also fellow Texan.

For having the audacity to publicly share their political views the group was essentially blackballed by Country Western media folks. With Country Western fans strong supporters of the military and ultimately the President, the Dixie Chicks ended up being put into a position where their fan base was forced to make a decision about the politics of the group.

The criticism led to corporate media conglomerates influencing air time at outlets all across the country. According to the film, "Shut Up & Sing," the fuss created by the words led to the Chicks being banned from air play by management in various media outlets.

As the movie is set to premiere this weekend in both New York and Los Angeles, at least one film company has said that NBC wouldn't accept an ad for the film. Though the political season has been ripe with ribald ads and features several with notoriously false claims about candidates, the ad for Shut Up & Sing seems rather innocuous.

The ad shows some footage of the Iraq War then provides the basic context to Maines' 2003 remark about fellow Texan Bush. But the it also shows Maines calling Bush "dumb" for one comment he made about the group.

Shut Up & Sing chronicles the three years that members of the music group spent attempting to keep their once promising careers on track. The film is rated R for language.

By Christina VanGinkel

When we purchased our first DVD player a few years ago, the one request that I had was to be able to buy the complete set of the Planet of the Ape DVD's. I was all of four years old when the first Planet of the Apes show was made back in 1968, and I grew up watching the classic in the making as the show progressed from episode to episode. What follows is my own accounting of the first episode, Planet of the Apes, as it sets up the storyline for the rest of the shows, including Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, and Battle for the Planet of the Apes. Be warned though, that if you watch the first show, you are destined to watch them all, for you will want to know how the story continues, each ending in waiting for the next to begin.

Starring Charleston Heston and Roddy McDowall, the original Planet of the Apes is set in a time that spans across the ages. The story starts when a manned ship with four astronauts aboard, three men and one woman, turns itself over to full automatic via computers after being in deep space for six months. However, by their calculations, they figure the earth has aged seven hundred years since they first took off from Cape Kennedy, as they have been traveling by the speed of light and that the people who originally sent them on the expedition are long gone.

When they land, three of the four astronauts are alive. The fourth, the woman Stuart, has aged and died and resembles a mummy more than a human being. They find that they have crashed into a body of water and must race to escape before their ship sinks. Once they determine it is safe, they blow the hatch and abandon ship. Before they do, Taylor, played by Charleston Heston, sees the clock on board, and it says it is the year 3978, much further into the future than they had expected it to be.

As the men paddle away from the ship, they watch it sink into the abyss, and realize that wherever it is they are at, they are there to stay. Unsure of where they are, other than being three hundred light years away from where they began, they have no clear idea where they have crashed. They paddle until they reach a shoreline that is rocky and desolate looking. They take stock of what they have as far as supplies go, which includes a pistol and a medical kit, and they also figure they have food for three days; though they do not have a clue how long a day is under the present circumstances. They run a soil test and determine nothing will grow where they are at, so they had better go in search of somewhere that food will grow.

Landon (Robert Gunner), Dodge (Jeff Burton), and Taylor set out to see what they can find, with no clear design of where they are headed. They encounter thunder and lightning with no rain, cloud cover at night, a strange luminosity, but no moon, and are quickly running out of water as tensions start to rise.

The first sign of life they find is a flowered plant, which gives them the spirit to continue their search for whatever may be out there. Before they find anyone though, they encounter what looks like scarecrows. The forms are apparently a warning of some kind, but when they reach them, they also encounter trees and water. The appeal is too much and they surge on, throwing themselves into the pool of water at the base of a waterfall. On the far shore, they find footprints, and then their clothing is stolen. There are other people about. Now they are in a strange land and naked. They follow as best they can, finding their belongings scattered about and recover enough to cover themselves.

They find a group of people in a cornfield. They do not appear quite normal though, and Taylor thinks they are mute. As they watch the people, a horn sounds in the distance and the people try to run for cover. The horn was announcing the coming of apes on horseback and on foot patrolling the cornfield. The apes use nets to catch the people, Dodge is shot dead, Taylor is shot in the neck and captured. He comes to just long enough to hear an ape talk as he takes a picture of some fellow comrades standing over a pile of dead people.

The next time he comes to, he is strapped on a table as two apes, apparently doctors, are discussing him as if he were nothing more than an animal. Afterwards, he is moved to a cage where the female doctor (Dr. Zira played by Kim Hunter) he remembers from his first encounter is trying to get some other caged humans to talk. Another ape, Dr. Zaius (portrayed by Maurice Evans), belittles her for trying. She gives him the name of Bright Eyes. He leaves, and Dr, Zira gives him a treat, a female human (Linda Harrison) who he eventually names Nova.

When next we see them, Taylor and Nova are in a cage outside with several other humans. As the apes stand by, a fight breaks out amongst the humans. Zira tells the other apes not to hurt Taylor. As Dr. Zaius walks away from the encounter, he spies writing on the floor of the cage where Taylor was just removed. He scratches it out with his cane.

Taylor grabs Zira and hands her a piece of paper that he has written his name on. Before she realizes this though, one of the ape guards beats Taylor. Zira reads the note though, and calls for a leash and collar for him and takes him back to her home. Zira's fiance, Cornelius, played by Roddy McDowell, questions him as he writes down answers. Cornelius at first thinks it is a trick. As they discuss what to believe or not believe, Dr. Zaius comes to the home asking them if they forgot their appointment, and he has Taylor returned to the lab.

Back in his cage at the lab, he overhears that Dr. Zaius has ordered him gelded. When the ape guard enters his cage, he knocks him unconscious and escapes. He runs into a building where apes are worshipping, and is seen by a child ape who points him out to the others. He again runs through the encampment of apes, and though caught temporarily, he soon escapes again. He finds himself in a museum of sorts, where he discovers Dodge has been stuffed like an animal. Back outside, he is once again captured.

As Zira comes forward to ask why they have him, that he is her charge, she is told that he is no longer, and Taylor at that time speaks for the first time, his throat healed enough for him to tell the apes to let him go and to take their dirty hands off him. All of the apes in hearing range are shocked to hear a human speak.

Back in his cage with Nova, he talks to her, even though she does not understand him. He is trying to teach her to say the name Nova. The apes come and take Nova away, using a hose to control them. They move her to another cage. The apes are obviously fearful of a human that can talk.

Several apes come back and take Taylor from the cage, using a collar and leash; they lead him to a room where Dr. Zaius, Dr. Zira, and Cornelius, await, amongst others. It is a hearing to determine what shall become of him. As he stands naked before them, Cornelius asks what the tribunal is for. When Zira tells the others that Taylor should have the right to know what the charges against him are, she is told that he has no rights, as he is not an ape. When Taylor talks, trying to defend his self, orders are given to silence him. One ape claims that his brain was tampered with by the ape doctors and that is why he can speak. Taylor hands Cornelius a piece of paper and asks that he read it out loud or him, as he ahs been banned from speaking. He only reads a few words when he is stopped, that the claim that he arrived from outer space is ridiculous.

The apes nonetheless decide to go and check out all the apes caught the day Taylor was, to see if there are any others that talk. He recognizes Landon, but it is too late, his brain has been cut into and his ability to speak is gone. Taylor is dragged back to the hearing, and when he tries to speak out, he is gagged. While Cornelius does not believe that he came from outer space, he does believe that eh came from the forbidden zone as Taylor's earlier description matches his own memory of when he once traveled there with permission to explore.

Zira and Cornelius are charged with various penalties for speaking out in favor of Taylor. Taylor is told by Dr. Zaius that he has been placed in his custody. He tells him that he plans to do experiments on him. He will spare him he says, if he tells him where he really came from. Taylor stands his ground and says he knows nothing of this world, only that he came from another planet. Dr. Zaius tells him he has six hours to tell him the truth before he starts experimenting on him, and has him returned to his cage.

When an ape by the name of Julius comes to get him to put him in a zoo, saying that he has been spared, the ape guard does not believe the order. Julius is really Dr. Zira's nephew and he helps Taylor escape. He takes Nova with them. By the dark of night, they go to Dr. Zira. She puts them in a cage on a back of a wagon and heads out of the village.

Outside of town, they meet up with Cornelius who has horses and supplies ready. Cornelius tells Taylor that he is in charge of this expedition, but Taylor tells him only he is in charge of himself, and that he does not plan on being caught again. Cornelius and Zira must prove their theory, or face their accusers.

When Cornelisu asks Taylor if he has any proof of the things he said, Taylor said all the proof he has is maybe a flag or a deflated raft. They travel to the forbidden zone with the horses and the wagon. When the terrain gets too rough for the wagon, they load what they can onto the horses. Taylor asks Cornelius why it is called the forbidden zone, but he has no real answer, other than it always has been. When they come to a river, they follow it. It leads to an ocean. Along the shore is where Cornelius had found proof of what he said was an earlier time. As Cornelius is about to show Taylor what he found the first time he was there, other apes arrive along with Dr. Zaius. Guns are drawn and Taylor tells Dr. Zaius if anyone comes closer, he will be the first one shot. Cornelius tries to tell Dr. Zaius that the cave along the shore holds proof of what they believe. He goes with them up tot eh cave. They leave Zira's nephew to stand guard.

In the cave, Cornelius shows Dr. Zaius his evidence, including proof of a culture that was more or at least equal to their intelligence. The main piece of evidence is a human doll, a doll that says mama. Taylor asks Dr. Zaius if an ape would make a doll that talks.

When they hear shooting outside, they all run out of the cave except for Dr. Zaius. Taylor fakes that he has been shot, Dr. Zaius tosses the doll that he has been holding down into the cave, and when Dr. Zaius comes out of the cave, Taylor grabs him and takes him hostage. He tells him to tell the other apes to pull back. They use the opportunity to make a trade, Dr. Zaius for a horse and enough food and water to last a week for him and Nova, and fifty rounds of ammo. Meanwhile, he ties up Dr. Zaius, much to the chagrin of Dr. Zira and Cornelius. He asks Dr. Zira and Cornelius to go with them, but they decline.

Before Taylor leaves, Dr. Zaius has Cornelius read something that talks of a harbinger of death, man. Taylor bids them farewell, and as he tells Dr. Zira that he would like to kiss her goodbye, she says ok, but that he is so damn ugly. Dr. Zaius admits to Taylor that he has known about man all along. Taylor and Nova ride off. The ape soldiers begin to follow, but Dr. Zaius calls them off, telling them to let him go. He then orders them to seal off the cave, and tells Zira and Cornelius that any evidence inside of the cave that would clear them must never be seen, and that they will stand trial.

The show ends as we see Taylor and Nova following the shoreline until they come to what remains of a shattered and broken Statue of Liberty. Taylor realizes that he is home, that he is on the planet Earth. He curses humanity as the waves wash in around him. If this peeked your interest, be sure to check out the rest of the Planet of the Ape movies.

Rating: * * * * * (Out of 5)

Singin' in the Rain is one of the most loved and celebrated film musicals of all time from MGM, before a mass exodus to filmed adaptations of Broadway plays emerged as a standard pattern. The joyous film, co-directed by Stanley Donen and acrobatic dancer-star-choreographer Gene Kelly, is a charming, upbeat, graceful and thoroughly enjoyable experience with great songs, lots of flashbacks, wonderful dances (including the spectacular Broadway Melody Ballet with leggy guest star Cyd Charisse), casting and story. This was another extraordinary example of the organic, "integrated musical" in which the story's characters naturally express their emotions in the midst of their lives. Song and dance replace the dialogue, usually during moments of high spirits or passionate romance. And over half of the film, a "let's put on a play" type of film, is composed of musical numbers.

Because the colorful, witty film is set in 1927, it humorously satirizes and parodies the panic surrounding the troubling transitional period from silents to talkies in the dream factory of Hollywood of the late 1920s as the sound revolution swept through. The film's screenplay, suggested by the song "Singin' in the Rain" that was written by Freed and Brown, was scripted by Betty Comden and Adolph Green (who also wrote On the Town ). The time frame of Comden's and Green's script, the Roaring 20s Era of flappers, was mostly determined by the fact that lyricist Freed (and songwriter Nacio Herb Brown) had written their extensive library of songs in their early careers during the 1920s and 1930s, when Hollywood was transitioning to talkies. The musical comedy's story, then, would be best suited around that theme. Except for two songs, all of the musical arrangements in the film to be showcased were composed by Freed and Brown for different Hollywood films before Freed became a producer.

The plot of the film is actually an autobiography of Hollywood itself at the dawn of the talkies. The story is about a dashing, smug but romantic silent film star and swashbuckling matinee idol, Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly), and his glamorous blonde screen partner/diva, Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen), who are expected, by studio heads, to pretend to be romantically involved with each other. They are also pressured by the studio boss to change their silent romantic drama and make their first sound picture. There's one serious problem, however - the temperamental, narcissistic star has a shrill, screechy New York accent. The star's ex-song and dance partner, Cosmo (Donald O'Connor) proposes to turn the doomed film into a musical, and suggests that Don's aspiring actress and ingenue dancer girlfriend, Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds), dub in her singing voice behind the scenes for lip-synching Lina. The results of their scheming to expose the jealous Lina and put Kathy in a revealing limelight provide the film's expected happy resolution.

Everyone has seen the film's signature "Singin' in the Rain" dance number at one time or another (even those who have never laid eyes on a full Hollywood musical). In the scene, Gene Kelly's character has just kissed Kathy good-night. In a classic, heart-lifting, enchanting dance sequence during a cloudburst, he does a glorious, almost five minute performance of the title song "Singin' In the Rain", a spontaneous expression of his crazy-in-love, euphoric mood and happiness over his new-found love for Kathy. The title song has become movie legend as the most famous dance number in American film, and it is Gene Kelly's finest solo performance ever, although he was suffering from a 103 degree fever.

Composed of only ten distinct shots (with a dissolve at its beginning, at the front door, and at its ending), Kelly strolls down the empty two blocks of street in the rain passing shop windows. At first he keeps his umbrella open above him to keep dry, but after a few short steps, he shrugs and closes it (and either lays it on his shoulder, swings it, keeps it to his side, or imaginatively incorporates it into the number). He skips on the sidewalk, exuberantly climbs on and swings around a lamppost with one hand, with his umbrella folded up in his other outstretched hand. He continues to saunter and slosh along, then jumps and tap-dances through the puddles, becoming more and more child-like. He lets a drainpipe of rainwater drain on his upturned, broadly-smiling face, kicks up water, splashes, cavorts, and stamps around with sheer delight. After twirling on the cobble-stoned street, he balances on the street curb like a tightrope walker. When a mystified and vaguely hostile policeman finally walks over to find out what he is doing jumping up and down in deep puddles, and looks at him suspiciously, he reacts guiltily toward the authority figure. (When the camera cuts from one view to another, Kelly's two hands on the umbrella change to only his right hand on the umbrella.) He slows down, turns, and answers simply: "I'm dancin' and singin' in the rain." He closes his umbrella, grins boldly, walks off, hands his umbrella off to a needy passerby and waves back toward the policeman from afar.

The sound effects are caused by the rain and the pools of water. There is a background noise of the hiss of rain falling, accompanied by the squelchy sound of the taps. This eventually escalates to the gushing sound of the water-spout and the louder, splashing noise made by Kelly jumping up and down in the puddles. Holes were specially dug on the sidewalk and filled up with water (six puddles), precisely where Kelly's choreography demanded them, and a lake was dug out in the gutter of the street. In fact, the whole number, which was shot out of doors on one side of the permanent streets built on the studio back lot (East Side Street), demanded complex engineering to deliver the right flow of water through a series of pipes for the rain and the downspout. The area was also blacked out with tarpaulins (rather than shooting 'day for night') and had to be lit from behind so that the rain was visible in the glare from the carbon arcs and to avoid reflections in the shop windows. (In the opening and closing downpour sequences of Rashomon, Kurosawa added ink to the rain to make it more visible and a similar method was used in Singin' in the Rain.)

We feel his joy through his singing and dancing. I am not sure how he could have expressed that same sensation through dialogue or any other way. In that sense, the choreography has replaced the words in the script, and the dance sequence is filled with signification. Each movement, combined with the singing and the background sound effects, enforces our sharing of his emotions.

Another amazing choreography is showcased in O'Connor's solo number, "Make 'Em Laugh." In it, O'Connor contorts, bounces, and flings himself around in a manner reserved exclusively for stunt performers in the modern era. Even more awe-inspiring, the vast majority of the scene is performed in single, uninterrupted takes. No camera cuts to hide transitions from one leap to the next: All are completed in sequence, in real time. The sheer energy of these performances, Kelly climbing onto the roof of a trolley car before leaping off into a convertible; the leading trio simultaneously walking across a couch and tipping it onto its back; O'Connor running up a wall and flipping over backwards, inspires comparisons with other great physical performers, from silent comedians Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd to modern day action stars like Jackie Chan.

This goes beyond ordinary dancing, just as Buster Keaton's antics go beyond ordinary acting and Jackie Chan's stunts go beyond ordinary martial arts. And, like Keaton and Chan, Kelly and company incorporate props and objects around them into their performances: a lamp-post, an umbrella, a dummy, curtains, a plank being carried by workmen, whatever comes to hand. It's a robust, energetic mode of dancing; and Kelly, with his square jaw and muscular build, gave dancing a more virile, macho face than debonair Fred Astaire.

What makes this movie work so well is a magical combination of factors that Hollywood never managed to bring together again in any other musical. Most musicals are stagey, artificial affairs, with actors breaking into show-stopping numbers that are only thinly tied together by perfunctory, even annoying plots. Characters are often one-dimensional, and can behave with jarring shifts in mood or motivation as required by the song lyrics, supposedly falling in love with other characters that they know as little as we know them.

Singin' in the Rain is so different. First of all, its song-and-dance numbers are worked with some plausibility into the story, which is entertaining enough to be worth watching for its own sake, even if there were no singing or dancing. And yet it is full of such joy that it demands singing and dancing; the musical elements aren not just tacked on. The characters are vivid and delightful, and the romance that develops (amid much bantering and posturing) between Don and Kathy is completely engaging. The film shines with the joy of performance; everyone involved is obviously having enormous fun and it is infectious.

What constituted the decline of the traditional musicals? I believe the traditional musicals have simply evolved into another kind of films, martial arts films. There are many similarities between the two. One is the interrelation between the choreographical conception and the camera. The framing and the editing are fundamental for the perception and the efficiency of the spectacle. We can also note that the framing will be tighter on the character to capture small details, but the editing should not destroy the initial movement. The secret is the continuity, especially when the main object of representation is movement, like dancing or fighting. The director, choreographer and editor determine the mise-en-scene when the fidelity of movement is absolutely necessary to a good representation. While the older musicals and modern martial arts films tend to favor continuity, Hollywood movies nowadays, whether actions or musicals, tend to have a different representation.

In musical movies, like in martial arts cinema, the best films have been made by the people who know the object being represented, whether it is dance or martial arts. These people often become choreographers or directors and they understand perfectly how to use the frame to emphasize their art. Moreover, most of them have their say in the editing. Gene Kelly was involved in many aspects of filmmaking.

The genre of movie musical has mini revival in recent years with the success of Moulin Rouge and Chicago. The newer films are more stylized but at the same time the actors' performance is minimized and other cinematic techniques compensate for that. The rapid cutting, the constant camera movement, and dramatic music and sound effects must labor to generate an excitement that is not primed by the concrete event taking place before the lens. In Singin' in the Rain, almost all the dance scenes are made up of just a few long takes, thanks to the actual dancing abilities of the lead actors. By doing so, it allows the movement of the bodies to take over the story telling, therefore choreography dominates over other filmmaking techniques.
Singin' in the Rain is not only the best of the genre, it is one of the best films of all time. It is almost flawless in every department, with every dance sequence transports us to a world of dreams. It is the kind of film that you can watch over and over again and still have a smile on your face.

SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, screen play and story by Adolph Green and Betty Comden; directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen; produced by Arthur Freed. Running Time: 1 hour 59 minutes. Don Lockwood . . . . . Gene Kelly Cosmo Brown . . . . . Donald O'Connor Kathy Selden . . . . . Debbie Reynolds Lina Lamont . . . . . Jean Hagen R. F. Simpson . . . . . Millard Mitchell Guest Artist . . . . . Cyd Charisse Zelda Zanders . . . . . Rita Moreno Roscoe Dexter . . . . . Douglas Fowley Dora Bailey . . . . . Madge Blake

If there is anything that a movie fan can look forward to it is the annual American Movie Classics TV presentation of Monstervision where for 24 hrs a day, 7 straight days, the TV is loaded with horror films. While one really needs to question the logic of slop like Hellraiser II and Friday the 13th the Final Chapter being promoted as classics, the channel does offer a ton of old Universal Horror film classics. (On a side note, the once great, now hopelessly pathetic Sci-Fi Channel used to have exclusive rights to the Universal horror library and now AMC does which is bizarre considering that Universal owns the Sci-Fi Channel)AMC did offer a cool triple feature of THE WOLFMAN, FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN, and HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN and viewing the three films in a row is the same sequence these films were released theatrically in 1942, 1944 and 1945 respectively.

While THE WOLFMAN was the more serious of the two, the pulp oriented fun of the other two films does not detract from their quality.THE WOLFMAN introduces Lon Chaney Jr. to the world as Lawrence Talbot, a wayward son who returns home to stay with his estranged father in England after his older brother has been killed in a hunting accident. After stirring a great deal of controversy trying to pick up Gwen, a woman who is engaged to another man, Larry Talbot finds himself bitten by a werewolf trying to save a young woman who the werewolf has attacked. Now that he has been bitten, Larry Talbot is doomed to turn into a werewolf when the moon rises and no one believes him when he tells of his curse until it is too late. More than just a horror film, THE WOLFMAN has a tremendous amount of symbolism present with regards to the dysfunction of the family as well as a caustic warning of what can happen to a man who refuses to grow up and accept responsibility in life. This is not to say that the film is devoid of scares as Lon Chaney's fearsome portrayal of the werewolf is top notch.

FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN sees Larry Talbot awakened from his dead slumber by would be grave robbers. When he realizes that he cannot truly be killed, he seeks out Dr. Frankenstein who understands the secrets to life and death and might be able to give Larry the eternal piece that he requests. He ends up accidentally awakening the Frankenstein Monster (played by Bela Lugosi) and discovers that the Doctor has long since died, but that his granddaughter might hold the key to Larry's troubles. On a side note: pay attention to the way the Monster's lips move and no sounds come out. In the original cut of the film, the Monster had extensive dialogue as he learned developed the ability to speak at the end of the previous film GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN when Ygor's brain (Ygor was played by Bela). However, when the film was tested in front of audiences, they found the Monster speaking with Bela's Hungarian accent laughable so the dialogue was cut out or overdubbed and remains lost forever.

HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN is a fun and silly monster mash with Baris Karloff joining John Carridine's Dracula, the underrated Glenn Strange's Frankenstein Monster and Lon Chaney Jr. once again appearing as the long suffering Wolfman. While this film is the sillier of the three, it still has some genuine scares present in the form of Karloff's utterly malevolent Mad Scientist role.Even after nearly 70 years, these films hold up quite well and are highly entertaining. While the latter two films are far more pulpy than scary, they do not detract from the seriousness and fearsomeness of the monsters as opposed to, say, the NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET films where Freddy ceased being frightening and became a silly Henny Youngman joke spouting villain.

When I was a kid and watched these films for the first time on UHF TV on an old black and white set, I thought these films were fantastic. Today, they still come off as fantastic and will continue to age well. This is what happens when a film (or film series) is made well.

By Simon Woodhouse

World War II movies that don't contain scenes of conflict are few and far between. Even scarcer still are films in the same genre that don't even take place in one of the main theatres of war. It's easy to see why this is - battlefield scenes make for exciting movies. However, the outcome of such a massive conflict as WWII was just as much influenced by events that took place far from the war zone, as it was by the combat itself. Enigma is a movie that tries to show this aspect of the war. It's a tale of unsung heroes, and as such is told in a very down-to earth fashion. But that's not to say it doesn't contain just as much insight into the conflict as the more gung-ho stories do, it's just focusing on a different, but nonetheless important facet of the hostilities.

Set in and around Bletchley Park (though not actually filmed there), the British code breaking facility located in the Northamptonshire countryside, the film cleverly weaves two different stories around one character. Tom Jericho (Dougray Scott) is a code breaking genius, but intelligence such as his comes at a price. Whilst part of a team who cracked an earlier code, he pushed himself to the point of having a nervous breakdown. Now his help is needed again, so he's brought back to Bletchley Park even though he's barely recovered from his previous ordeal. To make matters worse, the British Secret Service suspect there's a spy within the ranks of the code breakers, and they've sent Agent Wigram (Jeremy Northam) to try and sniff him out. This story of potential espionage forms one half of the tale surrounding Tom. The other plotline involves an attempt to unravel the secrets of the enigma machine, a clever device invented by the Nazis for sending and receiving coded messages. It's vital the code breakers understand the latest German communications, in order to save Allied shipping from Nazis submarines.

As Tom tries to find a way into the enemy codes, he's implicated in the spy ring by his earlier involvement with Claire Romilly (Saffron Burrows), a pretty young girl who used to work a Bletchley. Claire broke Tom's heart, something that also contributed to his breakdown. Now he's back at Bletchley he wants to see her again, but she's gone missing, a sinister turn of events that further adds to her implication in something underhand. Claire's best friend Hester (Kate Winslet), is also concerned for her whereabouts. Together Tom and Hester form an unlikely alliance intent on trying to find out exactly what's happened to Claire.

The film quickly turns into a mystery reminiscent of such classics as The 39 Steps and North By Northwest (both Hitchcock masterpieces). Told partly in flashbacks, and partly in the here-and-now, the movie never becomes confusing. Each different time frame is easy to appreciate due to Tom's mental condition. In the here-and-now he's teetering on the edge of another breakdown, whilst in the flashbacks he's madly in love with Claire.

Clever in its use of good guys and bad guys, the movie portrays the British Secret Service as the nasty men in black. Tom and Hester, using nothing more than there own intuition and risking serious consequences if they're caught, struggle to try and find Claire before Agent Wigram can get his hands on her. Because the audience learn what's happening as Tom and Hester do, it's not long before this film draws you in. Dougray Scott and Kate Winslet display a genuine chemistry, and it's their performances that carry the film. Kate Winslet's character is also the exact opposite of that portrayed by Saffron Burrows - she's dowdy, plain and unassuming. But she's got a real spark and ultimately outshines her more gorgeous co-star.

As the film progresses the two storylines become more intense. The pressure on the code breakers to decipher the Nazis messages moves up a notch, when the Allies realize the largest supply convoy ever sent across the Atlantic is heading straight toward the largest ever concentration of U-boats, but they've no idea where the subs are. At the same time, Tom and Hester realize Claire probably was involved in sending secrets to the Nazis, but Agent Wigram is breathing down their necks at every turn.

Some smashing dialogue, especially the banter between Tom and Hester, helps the film move along at a cracking pace. Considering there's very little 'action' as such, it's certainly not a dull movie. The Big Brother aspect of the British Secret Service turn them into really menacing bad guys. This aspect of the story is highlighted all the more by Tom and Hester's risk taking in order just to find Claire.

On the strength of this movie, Dougray Scott really should be further up the ladder of fame. Kate Winslet (always good), is perfectly cast in the role of Hester, and what's more she doesn't need to assume a fake British accent to play the part. Saffron Burrows isn't really the equal of these two, but luckily hers is only a minor role and becomes less important as the film goes on. Jeremy Northam's portrayal of the caddish Agent Wigram is spot on. He's all smiles and charm, but underneath you just know he's not to be messed with.

If gung-ho war movies are your thing, then Enigma probably isn't for you. But if you love all those old Hitchcock gems, and lament the fact 'they don't make them like that anymore', then I think you'll be just as fond of this film as I am.

Recently in our homeschool curriculum, my two middle-school aged daughters were assigned the classic Charles Dickens novel, Great Expectations. The novel turned out to be a bit harder than they expected, so I decided to read it aloud to them. When I found the book difficult to read aloud, we acquired the book on CD, completely unabridged. It was a treat to listen and by the end of the story, we had all fallen in love with dear Pip, his friendly pal, Herbert, and many of the other characters in the book. Just before we finished, I promised my daughters that when we finished the book, we would watch the movie. True to my word, I searched online, in libraries, and in book stores for the movie version of Great Expectations, and I was surprised to find many different versions of the movie made over the past sixty years. Finally, I settled upon the oldest version I could find, as I was not looking to put a modern spin on the story. I found a 1945 version of "Great Expectations, " the movie, directed by Academy Award winner, David Lean.

When we sat down to watch the movie, we were delighted to find that the characters had been cast so well. The hero, Pip, is played by a quiet John Mills, who, while a bit boring, seems to really capture the quietness and wonder of Pip. Jean Simmons is delightful as the icy Estella, who captures Pip's heart but cares little for him. Martita Hunt is exactly how my daughters and I pictured the odd and eccentric Miss Havisham, who lives like a hermit in her broken down old house. Bernard Miles is the beloved Joe, and Eileen Erskine, the housekeeper, and ultimately Joe's wife, Biddy. Also were Francis L. Sullivan as the mysterious Mr. Jaggers, and Ivor Barnard as the unusual and hilarious Mr. Wemmick. Yet, perhaps our favorite character of all, and a complete surprise, because we did not recognize him, was a young, sprightly Alec Guiness as Pip's dear friend, Herbert Pocket. We all remembered an old, bearded Sir Alec Guiness as the soft spoken Obi wan Kenobi of Star Wars fame. Yet, this young Herbert is quite a different Alec Guiness. The only part of him we unmistakably recognized were his soft, kind eyes. He was delightful to watch.

The story is about young, orphaned Pip who lives in England with his sister and her husband, Joe, a blacksmith. Pip's sister is unmercifully mean to him, but by a series of unexpected events, Pip is given a fortune to become a gentleman in London. He leaves kind Joe and his cruel sister behind to live in the city, dress formally, and all that went with this type of arrangement in late 19th century England. In the process of his good fortune, Pip must learn the value of friendship and relationship, regardless of education or socio-economic background. Pip associates the lower class with his cruel sister and the ignorance of her husband Joe, and this prejudice is solidified when he meets the kind Herbert and his family, who are of the upper class. Yet in the course of the story, Pip learns that the wealthy and elite are often heartless and careless with their treasures, while the poor and downtrodden will give the shirts off their backs. This is a hard pill for Pip to swallow, and in the end, he is a much humbler young gentleman than he was when he first went to London. He begins the movie with a kind heart and ends it with an enormously kind and compassionate heart.

Although the movie leaves out much of the details that were in the book, it does not divert from the original story. Due to time constraints, many scenes are shortened considerably, and others are left out all together, but the idea still comes through loud and clear. We have not yet seen any other versions of this movie, and at this point, we do not want to. The characters on the screen are exactly the way we imagined them while reading the book; and if that is not good movie making, I do not know what is.

Jack Black...one of those fellows whom you either like or you can't stand...stars in this adorable, amusing flick, directed by Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite), written by Jared and Jerusha Hess. Jack is Ignacio, a Friar at a Mexican orphanage responsible for meal preparation. Ignacio grew up in this very monastery, and now is an adult with no skills to serve him in the real world. As a result, he sees no future for himself. He loves the orphan children he cooks for daily, but is forced to use leftover and donated ingredients and as a result the food is simply disgusting...always fascinated by the Lucha Libre wrestling circuit, Ignacio hatches a plan to become Nacho Libre and make enough money to ensure his charges are finally well fed...while at the same time impressing the new Sister at the convent, Encarnacion (Ana de la Reguera).

Lucha Libre is the term in nearly every Spanish-speaking country for any type of professional wrestling or freestyle wrestling. It began in the early 1900's and truly took off in Mexico in the 1930's when American wrestlers headed south of the border. Wrestlers are known as luchadors...the plural is luchadores. Masks have been used since inception, and all wrestlers in Mexico use them until the end of their career. It's common for luchadors on their 'final tour' to become unmasked, their character being officially retired.

Lucha is forbidden by the church, and Ignacio risks being thrown out of the monastery, but when he sees an ad for a match that will earn him a cash prize the temptation is too much to bear. An apparently homeless, painfully thin man steals his donated chips one evening, and Ignacio notices his skill and decides to make him his wrestling partner...Esqueleto (Hector Jimenez). They lose their first match but are presented with an envelope full of money anyway...their share of the spoils. For the first time, the orphans are served delicious, fresh salad and plenty of other goodies. Nacho feels a bit like a hero instead of a loser for a change, and he loves it, though we begin to wonder if he will become caught up in the quest for fame and forget the reason behind wrestling in the first place.

The cast of wrestling characters in this film are hilarious...two little people who call themselves 'Satan's Cavemen', and Ramses, Nacho's long time idol whom he has placed upon a rather high pedestal. Jack Black is fabulous throughout, from his accent, his eyebrows, and his body language right down to his pudgy self in tights and shirtless. He is constantly amusing, and I simply can't imagine the film without him.

As they progress up the ladder of Lucha, Nacho and Esqueleto begin to desire fame and all that goes with it...when they attempt to enter the 'inner world' of the sport at a party (the scene with Esqueleto and Ramses' manager's overweight daughter is a knee slapper), they are promptly rejected. They do manage to discover that the winner of an upcoming match will go on to fight Ramses himself and turn pro in the process, and this becomes the focus of Nacho's world. Unfortunately, it is at the expense of the very people he so wanted to care for and impress...Encarnacion reminds him on the evening of the party that there is no food for the orphans for breakfast, and he tells her there will be by morning. In the rush of excitement, he forgets and returns home with nothing to find that she has taken care of everything in his stead. She's disappointed, the kids are upset and in an attempt to retain her respect he reveals that he is indeed a Lucador and that with the proceeds from his upcoming match he plans to purchase a bus for the children so they can take many field trips. He is acting as God's warrior, wrestling for good...how could there be anything bad about it?

Nacho is of course unsuccessful and loses the match, then heads out to the desert to live the rest of his life alone and shamed. Esqueleto comes to him a few days later to let him know that the winner of the match has suffered an 'accident' and sustained a broken foot that will keep him sidelined...since Nacho came in second, he now gets to fight Ramses.

Nacho Libre is entertaining from start to finish, without any gaps or boring spots that are typical for this genre. Also, the movie is 100 minutes long, which I found to be very refreshing...most films wind up dragging the storyline on and on to make the movie longer, often at the expense of the plot. Short, sweet, and rated PG so it's safe for the kiddies. In fact, they may cheer louder than you do.

Rating: * * * * * (Out of 5)

United 93 was not at all what I imagined it would be. It was a hundred times better than what my expected. Even though five years have past since that tragic event, the memories of it have not faded; and they never will. It was a courageous decision to make a film about September 11.

The majority of people go to the movies to escape from the reality, and the movie factory that is Hollywood is good at churning out flicks that are as removed from reality as they possibly can… even movies that are based on real events. Director Paul Greengrass very intelligently avoids all the artificial drama that accompanies most Hollywood film. When the actual event was as shocking as 9/11, it is just unnecessary to add any more.

The film begins without any opening credits or opening music. The film is shot like a hyper kinetic documentary. The editing is fast and to the point. Barry Ackroyd's excellent cinematography utilizes natural lighting, and he is not afraid to have shadow on the actors' faces. It makes the viewers feel like they are in the middle of all the actions. John Powell's music is perfect as it heightens the tension but never calls attention to itself. The sound of the film is like a Robert Altman film with multiple layers of dialogue, but the sound mixing creates so much chaos but never confuses the viewers.

Another bold, but ultimately wise decision, was to cast non-recognizable actors. Greengrass even went as far as casting real life air control room staffs to play themselves in the film. The reason for this is that there is no preconceived notion of who they are. In a typical Hollywood movie, we would get the back stories of a few of the key characters and thus making them stand out as either heroes or villains. There is none of that United 93. The terrorists are not portrayed as villains and the passengers are not portrayed as heroes. They are portrayed as real, ordinary people. The scenes in the plane show us real human behavior instead of movie heroism. The way the film is presented, the viewers only get to see what is happening, almost in real time, of that fateful morning. Of course we know what is going to happen, but the present tense of the film puts us back in time to experience it again. Greengrass does not put the blame on anyone; the tone of the film is neutral. It does not comment on or make judgment on the events. It simply presents us a very realistic re-enactment of what happened, pieced together by the little evidence available to the best of the filmmakers' abilities.

I think the film's trailer really misrepresented what the film is about, and I think it turned off a lot of people, including myself. The trailer gave the impression that the film was like a thriller, and more damaging, it was like a typical Hollywood thriller. It almost seemed like the film or the studio was exploiting the event. Of course, Peter Greengrass' film is anything but. It is an exceptional film that is respectful to the events, to the people involved and especially to the victims. I am glad I finally saw it. Now I have a bad feeling that Oliver Stone's World Trade Center is going to be that typical Hollywood thriller in the United 93 trailer.

Written and directed by Paul Greengrass; director of photography, Barry Ackroyd; edited by Clare Douglas, Christopher Rouse and Richard Pearson; music by John Powell; production designer, Dominic Watkins; produced by Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lloyd Levin and Mr. Greengrass; released by Universal Pictures. Running time: 115 minutes.

WITH: As the Flight 93 Crew: JJ Johnson (Capt. Jason M. Dahl), Gary Commock (First Officer LeRoy Homer), Polly Adams (Deborah Welsh), Opal Alladin (CeeCee Lyles), Starla Benford (Wanda Anita Green), Trish Gates (Sandra Bradshaw) and Lorraine G. Bay (Nancy McDoniel). As the Flight 93 Passengers: David Alan Basche (Todd Beamer), Richard Bekins (William Joseph Cashman ), Jane Folger (Susan Blommaert), Ray Charleson (Joseph DeLuca), Christian Clemenson (Thomas E. Burnett Jr.) and Liza Colon-Zayas (Waleska Martinez). As the Flight 93 Hijackers: Khalid Abdalla (Ziad Jarrah), Lewis Alsamari (Saeed al-Ghamdi), Omar Berdouni (Ahmed al-Haznawi) and Jamie Harding (Ahmed al-Nami). At the Herndon, Va., control center: Ben Sliney (as himself). At Northeast Air Defense Sector: Maj. James Fox (as himself).

Two of my favorite types of movies are comedies, and cop movies. When you combine the two together, for me it is usually a great movie unless the plot is absolutely horrible. For some reason or another, movies that cross the two genres (if you can even call cop movies a genre) are pretty common.

One of my favorite movies that cross these two genres in the 2000 movie, Me, Myself and Irene, which stars Jim Carrey as Officer Charlie Bailey gates an officer of the world's finest police department, the Rhode Island State Police. The film also stars Renee Zellweger as Irene P. Waters, a woman who finds herself in the middle of a lot of trouble.

The movie starts off many years ago with Charlie and his 'soul mate'. They get married, and after a brief fight with an African American little person limo driver named Shonte, the movie moves to the emergency room, where several months later, Charlie's wife is giving birth. This is when the movie gets hilarious because, well Charlie's wife Layla gives birth to triplets, who were obviously fathered by the limo driver.

Eventually, Layla leaves Charlie for Shonte, and leaves Charlie with the three kids; Jamal, Lee Harvey, and Shonte Jr. Charlie loves his children so much, that he can't see the truth that the kids are not even his own kids, which is quite
funny considering the whole town is laughing at him (He even goes to confession in a scene and says that he thinks the whole town is laughing at him, which he is replied to with "Charlie, is that you?".

Charlie refuses to let himself take care of any of his problems, and as a result he is taken advantage of by nearly everyone in the small Rhode Island town. Eventually though, Charlie snaps and soon enough he is diagnosed as having advanced delusionary schizophrenia with involuntary narcissistic rage, with a split personality named Hank Evans. Doctors give him a prescription, and as long as he takes it (which causes severe cotton mouth) he will be able to control his advanced delusionary schizophrenia with involuntary narcissistic rage.

Charlie soon gets assigned to escort Irene P. Waters back to the state of New York, after she is arrested in Rhode Island for a supposed hit and run in New York. Charlie with his pills, takes Irene on his police motorcycle and begin their journey to New York. Charlie delivers Irene to the police station in New York, he goes to a hotel. Irene is interrogated, and almost killed before she goes and finds Charlie at his hotel. Irene goes to explain on how she was almost killed, and they leave the hotel, but at the same time, Charlie also leaves his medication at the hotel.

Soon the audience is introduced again to Charlie's other personality, Hank Evans, who is the complete opposite of Charlie. While Charlie is nice guy, Hank is a mean spirited man who doesn't take crap from anyone (and its Charlie who usually pays the price). Hank tries to get fresh with Irene, and soon the subplot of the romantic interest between Charlie / Hank / Irene starts to unfold.

From this point on, the movie's main plot is having Charlie / Hank try and get Irene away from getting killed by one of ex-employers named Dicky who is working with a detective of some sorts named Lieutenant Gerke. From this point on, the plot of the movie gets a little confusing. I have watched this movie several times, and I still don't completely understand what exactly is going on. Maybe it's because I just keep laughing at all of the jokes. The movie continues with several comedic events and the introduction of several minor characters, including a man named Whitey (played by Michael Bowman) who plays a crucial part near the end of the movie.


To me, this movie represents some of Jim Carey's best work. He's a comedian, and the role of a split personality police officer just screams his name. He pulls off the transitions between the two characters (Charlie and Hank) so well, while delivering so many funny lines throughout the entire movie. Carey's characters also flow very well with Renee Zellweger's Irene character making perfect onscreen chemistry.

If you are a fan of movies like Super Troopers, of actor Jim Carrey, or simply want to see a low level comedy that is pretty funny, then check this movie out. It's definitely one of my favorite comedies, and my favorite Jim Carrey movie.

By Simon Woodhouse

The buzzword in Hollywood these days seems to be 'franchise'. If a movie looks as though it might spawn a whole host of sequels, and therefore generate piles of cash by stretching an original premise to breaking point, no one stops to think about quality control. You can count on one hand the number of sequels (or prequels) that have lived up to the original. Like most franchises, the Alien movies have been going steadily down hill over recent years. The first one was a masterpiece, the second one sort of so-so, but by the time you get to number three you're in really dodgy territory.

If there has to be such a thing as a sequel, it works much better if the movie follows on from its predecessor, especially if what came before did reasonably well. Aliens (the second Alien film) took the original idea and pushed it in a new direction. Whereas the first film was all creepy and moody, the second one was just gung-ho action all the way. Though not as good as its parent, Aliens at least showed that the people involved were willing to acknowledge the first film. Aliens ended with three and a half of the cast surviving relatively unscathed (the half being Bishop the android). So you'd think it would make sense to bring this little group back for number three. But when has sense ever played a part in movie sequels?

As the opening credits are rolling, we're treated to a bit of back-story. This rather clumsily stitches together what is to come, with what happened at the end of Aliens. But it's a shame that two of the previous films best characters are written off in a heavy-handed piece of non-story. This ham-fisted approach sets the tone for the rest of the movie.

Besides needing a snot-dribbling monster, no Alien film seems to be able to see the light of day without involving the character of Warrant Officer Ripley (Sigourney Weaver). Alien 3 is no exception to this rule. The film starts with Ripley crash landing on the planet of Fiorini 161. Thanks to the crass opening sequence we know there's an alien with her (even if she doesn't), a fact that removes any suspenseful is-there isn't-there subplot. Fiorini is home to a penal facility, and nothing else. So what a stroke of luck that out of a whole planet, Ripley manages to crash land right outside the prison. Clumsy plot points like this pop up throughout the whole film, but perhaps the moviemakers were hoping no one would notice.

For some reason that's never explained, most of the prisoners have terrible British accents. Perhaps this is supposed to make them seem more sinister, whereas in actual fact it just makes them sound daft. Having landed on the planet and been taken in by the convicts, Ripley's adventures in Alien 3 can then be divided into four handy, bite-sized chunks. Chunk one - trying to find out if there's an alien down there with her. Chunk two - finding out there is. Chunk three - trying to convince everyone else there's an alien down there with her. Chunk four - trying to kill the alien. As this ponderous series of events roll by, various co-stars get dispatched by said alien. But because the previous two movies have shown us exactly how the beastie does this, seeing it mangle its victims doesn't have any real impact. And while we're on the subject of the alien, its incantation in this movie has it looking a little odd. The creature is CGI in some scenes, and animatronics in others, but these two renditions of the same beast don't look anything like each other. The computer-generated alien is black and shiny, whereas the puppet version is brown and crispy. Once again, perhaps the moviemakers just hoped we wouldn't notice.

For a while it looks as though a subtle sub-plot within the movie might save it from itself. Ripley becomes romantically involved with Clemens (Charles Dance), the prison's doctor. This is good, because Charles Dance delivers quite a fine performance. He's cool and collected, whilst everyone else swings wildly from one hysterical fit to the next. Unfortunately his liaison with Ripley is cut short. This leaves the prison (and the film) populated by panic-stricken inmates whose antics shift from irritating to hilarious and back again. The character of Dillon (Charles S. Dutton), the prison's chief inmate, seems to be there to try and inject the proceedings with a degree of rational, hard-man wisdom. But it's an over the top performance that's even more unrealistic than the CGI alien. The final few scenes contain a couple of 'twists', however these don't work, because by then the whole thing is such a shambles all they do is add to the ridiculousness.

In an ideal world Alien would have been a standalone movie that spawned no sequels. The fact that it has, and that they've all featured the character of Ripley, reflect badly on the first film. It's difficult to watch Alien without pondering the franchise's woeful mishandling. Alien Resurrection came after Alien 3, and it's difficult to know which film is worse. If pushed, I'd say the third movie stinks the most. There's really nothing note worthy about it at all. My advice to anyone lucky enough to have only watched the original film, is do yourself a favor and leave it at that.

Directed by: Ridley Scott
Written by: Dan O'Bannon
Starring: Tom Skerritt (Dallas)
John Hurt (Kane)
Sigourney Weaver (Ripley)
Yaphet Kotto (Parker)
Harry Dean Stanton (Brett)
Ian Holm (Ash)
Veronica Cartwright (Lambert)


: Far off in the cold reaches of space, the crew of a comercial tow ship investigates an S.O.S and find that they are the ones in need of saving :

In the distant future the massive space ship Nostromo silently drifts through space. Its crew of 7 are blissfully sleeping in cryo-stasis; instead of staying wake on a journey that would take years.
Computer monitors switch on and the ship's life support system turns on, waking the crew from their slumber 10 months too early. The ship's Captain Tom Skerritt) logs onto the ships supercomputer (known as Mother). Here he discovers the reason for their rude awakening. It seems the ship has picked up a faint signal and, obeying its directives, has altered its course accordingly to locate the beacon's.
The only problem is, it's having trouble deciphering exactly wat the nature of the beacon is.

Whilst Captain Dallas is chatting to the computer, we meet the rest of the crew: Kane (Hurt) 2nd in command, Ripley (Weaver) 3rd in command, Ash (Holm) the ships science officer, Lambert (Cartwright) the communications officer and Parker and Brett (Kotto and Stanton) a pair of bickering engineers. There's also Jones, the ships cat.

Eventually they locate the planet that the signal is coming from (called LV-426 in Aliens). A landing craft is released and they all venture down to the planet's surface. After touching down, Dallas leads a team including Kane and Lambert to locate the beacon. Aftertrekking a few kilometres of inhospitable terrain, a huge spaceship emerges over a ridge. A spaceship like nothing built by man.
A crack in the side allows them entry to the vessel and they are gobsmacked at what they find. There is a huge skeleton growing out of a chair in the middle of the room with a hole in it's chest where something burst out of.
After some more exploring Kane finds a shaft that leads down to a mysterious room filled with leathery eggs. Investigating on leads to it opening and a disgusting, large parasite melting through his helmet and attaching to his face (these little buggers are called Face Huggers).

Arriving back, Ripley refuses to let the exploration team back in unless they go through quarantine. The science officer, Ash, opens the air-lock and lets them in; disobeying a direct order.
With Kane in the medi-lab, they attempt to remove the parasite by cutting off one of it's many legs. The smallest incision causes bio-acid to spew out and eat through the floor and the deck below. After it comes to a stop, the crew realise they can't cut the creature off without kiling Kane. Who in their right mind would attack a creature with acid for blood?

The crew are called back to the lab by Ash, who is just as surprised to find the face hugger missing. A quick search around the room finds it dead in a corner. And it's not long before Kane regains consciousness. All is fine. Or is it?

The crew are all sat around a table eating Chinese food (where do they get Chinese food so far into space?) and are having a few laughs, jokes and complaining about pay. Kane starts coughing and choking on his food (Parker jokes "the food ain't that bad, man"). His choking turns nasty and he really starts spasing out: Screaming and convulsing beore falling to the table. The others try and restrain him, but leap back in terror as his chest suddenly erupts in a fountain of blood and gore. In the middle of his chest hole, and the cause of it, a viscious snake-like creature (grown from an egg implanted by the facehugger) looks around the room, then races off down a orridor, leaving the stunned crew in silence.

After discussion, the crew decide to hunt the little sod down and kill it. All they have in the way of weapons though are a few flamethrowers that Parker put together and a home made motion detector. Split off into 2 teams, one of them get a fright as the cat jumps out at them. Realising they'll pick it up again on the detector, Brett goes to look for it. As he's looking, he steps on something and holds it up for a better look. it seems the alien has shed its skin. Brett encounters the alien and this time it's big, almost feet tall and very powerful. Brett's close encounter doesn't last long. Time for a new plan.

Will the crew manage to kill it? Who will survive and what will be left of them? What is the secret directive Mother has? And why does Ash seem to want to protect the creature at all costs?
Well, these are questions you're going to have to answer yourself. Plus, nearly everyone has seen Alien, and if you havent, you bloody well should.

The film is slow-paced to begin with (almost an hour goes by until we see the alien) and we're giving a view of the ship and a look around before the crew are awakened, and as they walk around too. We get to see all the little details of circuit bards, long, dark gothic corridors, high-tech mechanisms and all sorts of nooks and cranies (perfect for a monster to hide in and jump out).
Constant slow, lingering camera movements implant a feeling of axiety and fear before the first words are spoken (over 5 minutes into the film). As we meet the characters, we realise that thy are just the same as us: human beings. Not stereotypical chiselled good looks and catwalk models (although Sigourney Weaver was, and still is, absolutly stunning in my eyes). These are normal people doing a normal job. Parker and Brett show this best with their constant bitching about pay and insults to each other.

This film works on so many different levels, each one disturbing us even further. Like any decent suspence/horror film, Alien takes its time to slowly introduce us to the threat: not just thrusting it into our faces with a sign saying "be scared now". It's a slow build up until the crescendo that is the dinner scene. That scene is one of the most disgusting and infamous scenes in all of cinema history.
A lot of people disagree when I say this is a Sci-Fi version of a haunted house film, but it is. It has all the cliches of a haunted house flick (even down to the person being scared by the cat jumping out at them), but distorts them so much you don't know what's what.

One of the sub-narrative plots in this film is the notion of male rape. The face hugger being the rapist, forced itself onto Kane, rammed something down his throat and impregnated him. This idea freaks out a lot of men and once they realise that's what's happening in the film, they won't watch it again.

Ridlet Scott's directing is powerful and masterful (as per usual). the set design is incredible, detailed and still impresses to this day (if you look, you can make out what some of the set is made from. There's one part near the end when a computer console is covered in plastic components of an Airfix aeroplane. Not that I'm complaining).

The actors do a terrific job, particularly Sigourney Weaver (but then I am biased) and Ian Holm as Ash; who has the biggest twist in the film and no one who hasn't scene it will work it out right until it is revealed.

But the top marks go to the genius of H.R. Geiger and his design of the Alien creature. Long before James Cameron's high-action sequel took the creature out of the shadows and into the open, H.R. Geiger's creature was starkly original, even perverse (designed with male sex organs poking out of female organs) and director Scott wisely kept the creature hidden in the shadows. Sure it was just a man in a suit, but it was one massivly impressive suit. keeping it in the dark not only heightened the fright factor, but also kept the suit out of the scrtinizing eye of the movie-goer. Nothing ruins a monster movie like being able to see the seam or the zipper on the back, and Scott erased that probability by keeping it low lit and hidden. We see all we need to see of the hostile creature, and what we do see is scary as hell.

The most impressive scenes are easily in the last 20 minutes or so. Scott's directing and O'Bannon's writing perfecty bounce off each other and meld to create a horror masterpiece. This film is almost perfect apart from one thing, just as Ripley is about to escape, she goes back for the cat. How crazy and stupid is that? This woman has gone from meek to mighty and goes back for a dumb cat. A lot of people say it's a good thing; showing her nurturing side (which is shown a lot more in Aliens), but maybe she went back so the writer could fit in an extra bit of suspence.

But that aside, Alien wel deserves to be called a horror masterpiece, and one of the best at that. The film being set in space is incidental, as Alien has all the clustrophobic and undeniable feeling of a haunted house/monster-on-the-loose film. One of Ridley Scott's best films, Alien is taut, suspenseful and a classic scare show.

Everyone has to see this film at least once.
Gets 10 out of 10 in my book any day

Rating: * * * * (Out of 5)

Thank You for Smoking is witty; it is entertaining; and it flows briskly. Jason Reitman's directorial debut film has all the qualities of a good comedy. However, it lacks the bite to be considered a good satire. It moves just a tad too briskly to rob the viewer the time to ponder the implications of the film's messages. But it is a good effort for a first time writer/director. If nothing else, the wonderfully written protagonist of the film is enough to hold your attention for the entire hour and a half of its running time.

It is never easy to create a hero that the audience sympathizes with, especially one that is a spokesman for tobacco companies, one who has "flexible morals", and one who belongs to a group that proudly calls themselves the "Merchants of Death", basically the most despised man in America. Nick Naylor (played by Aaron Eckhart) is all of those things. Yet, the character is so charming and persuasive that you just cannot help but to feel for him. Nick is a lobbyist. As he tells us, Michael Jordan plays ball; Charles Manson kills; he talks. If he takes a one of those career choices questionnaires, it would probably point him to the direction of a lobbyist, because he is simply very good at it. He is the vice-president of the fictional Institute of Tobacco Research, which is funded by the tobacco companies. So naturally, the institute's purpose is to release research results that favor the tobacco companies. Nick would then spin the results, not as truth, as he knows truth is not important, but as "freedom of choice" since that is always correct.

The film is also about Nick's relationship with his son, who lives with his mother. When Nick has the idea to put smoking back in movies, and on his way to Hollywood to meet with super agent, Jeff Megall (played by Rob Lowe), he takes his son along. It is funny to see that Jeff is even more Nick than Nick, and a Hollywood agent works just the same way as a tobacco lobbyist. We get to see that Nick is not such a bad guy after all, his morals might be a bit off, but he genuinely cares about his son.

Opposing Nick is Senator of Vermont, Ortolan Finistirre (played by William H Macy), who proposes to put a "Poison" sticker on cigarette packets. On top of that, an anti-cigarette group threatens to kidnap and kill Nick. In the middle of all that, there is a conniving journalist, Heather Holloway (played by Katie Holmes) who complicates matter even more for Nick.

Even though I was entertained by Thank You for Smoking, I found myself wanting more than just simple entertainment. Mr. Reitman's film could have dug a little bit deeper into the interesting question of the ethics of capitalism, and its implications of our society. To take a cue from the great satires, such as Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, or any of Luis Bunuel's films, it is not enough to simply present an absurd (although in this film, the idea is really not that absurd) moral, it is necessary to support it with sharp social criticism. This is where I think Thank You for Smoking falls short. It is a good film, but it could have been a great film.


A Room 9 Entertainment presentation of a David O. Sacks production in association with Content Film. Produced by David O. Sacks. Executive producers, Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, Max Levchin, Mark Woolway, Edward R. Pressman, John Schmidt, Alessandro Camon, Michael Beugg. Co-producers, Daniel Brunt, Daniel Dubiecki, Mindy Marin, Michael R. Newman. Co-executive producer, David J. Bloomfield. Directed, written by Jason Reitman, based on the novel by Christopher Buckley. Running time: 92 minutes. Nick Naylor - Aaron Eckhart; Polly Bailey - Maria Bello; Joey Naylor - Cameron Bright; Jack - Adam Brody; Lorne Lutch - Sam Elliott; Heather Holloway - Katie Holmes; Bobby Jay Bliss - David Koechner; Jeff Megall - Rob Lowe; Sen. Ortolan Finistirre - William H. Macy; BR - J.K. Simmons; The Captain - Robert Duvall; Jill Naylor - Kim Dickens; Pearl - Connie Ray; Ron Goode - Todd Louiso

By Simon Woodhouse

In recent years computer animation has started to take over from traditional, hand drawn cartoons. This trend seemed to start with Toy Story, the first full-length feature from Pixar Studios. The movie generated a pile of cash, and so inevitably spawned a sequel. For a while Pixar seemed to have the computer animation field to themselves, but recently other studios have been getting in on the act. Unfortunately some of the results haven't been all that good. Pixar's films do so well because they don't just rely on the computer animation, they also have lovable characters you can't help but like. In fact, the computer animation is almost incidental; it's the script that makes the films work. The Iron Giant is probably the last truly great, conventionally animated movie, and just like the Pixar stuff, it's the characters and the script that make it so good.

The film is very loosely based on a children's book written by Ted Hughes back in the late 60s. The moviemakers, however, have changed the story wholesale, even altering the original title - The Iron Man. But despite this butchery of a classic, the end result is an extremely watch-able, extremely enjoyable film that's got a real personal charm about it.

Ordinarily I'm not a fan of cartoon films. I find Disney's bile inducing stuff from the 90s totally unbearable. Singing teapots and heavy moralistic overtones aren't my idea of entertainment (then again, perhaps I'm not their target audience). The Iron Giant contains none of these things. No one sings, there are no comedy sidekicks providing slapstick 'laughs', and the story doesn't involve a wholesome family unit.

Set on the East Coast of America during the 50s, the film pays homage to the classic Sci-Fi theme of mysterious invaders from another planet, which was actually just a metaphor for US paranoia about the Soviet Union and the nuclear arms race. Hogarth Hughes (voiced by Eli Marienthal) isn't really interested in what's happening in the USSR, but that's understandable because he's only ten years old. Like most boys of his age, he's into comic books and trashy Sci-Fi films. The child of a single mother - Annie Hughes (voiced by Jennifer Aniston), Hogarth spends his days entertaining himself with an over active imagination. Home alone one night when his mother is forced to work late at the diner, Hogarth hears a mysterious noise outside and sets off into the woods to investigate. Here he encounters the Iron Giant, a fifty-foot tall metal man who comes from who-knows-where. Though the first meeting doesn't go very well - Hogarth is terrified, they soon become firm friends.

As far as big-screen robots go, the Iron Giant has to be amongst the coolest. Not only does he look great, but considering he's got no movable facial features besides his mouth, he manages to convey the whole range of human emotions. This metal monster is 'voiced' by Hollywood hard man Vin Diesel. But the robot doesn't really talk, only uttering the odd word here and there. However, this limited vocabulary is enough to provide a few really touching moments.

Being made of metal, the Iron Giant has to eat metal to survive. When various pieces of farm machinery start showing up with large bite marks in them, someone calls the government, who send Kent Mansely (voiced by Chris McDonald) from the Unexplained Phenomena Department (a forerunner of the X-Files I guess). Mansely is a man convinced of his own self-importance, even if no one else is. In order to help him hide the Iron Giant from Mansely and the government, Hogarth seeks the help of local beatnik artist Dean McCoppen (voiced by Harry Connick Jr). Between them they manage to keep the robot out of harms way, until Mansely convinces the army to come to town.

Though the plot is simple, it's certainly not patronizing. Unlike Disney films, there isn't a stereotypical, extremely ugly villain (a not so clever way to teach kids that all good looking people can be trusted). Rather than having a personification of 'evil', the movie suggests that an irrational fear of the unknown is far more dangerous.

Not helped by a lackluster marketing campaign on the part of Warner Bros, the movie fared badly at the box office. This is a shame, because it's a breath of fresh air in the world of feature length cartoons. There's humor, but it's neither childish nor smutty. All the actors provide voices that perfectly match their respective characters. In fact, this film is probably Jennifer Aniston's finest celluloid moment. Harry Connick Jr's laid back tone absolutely fits the character of Dean, against which the over-excitable Mansely is an excellent contrast. So even if you're not a fan of cartoon films, I'd recommend The Iron Giant. But a word of warning, the penultimate scene is a bit of a tear jerker, and right up there with the death of Bambi's mom. So if you're a big, butch guy like me, just pretend you've got something in your eye.

By Simon Woodhouse

Movies set in the near future went through a bit of a renaissance a few years ago. And rather interestingly, they all looked very similar. Minority Report, I Robot, and this film, A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, have a shared vision of the future. It's a place where technology is king, almost to a point where it seems as though people are only there to act as a background detail. These films have very little in the way of a soul, and are really just effects-driven, CGI workouts that create a bit of instant hype but quickly disappear off the radar.

A.I. tries to put a bit of humanity back into the near future scene, but it's a forced, fake sort of sentiment that's no more real than the CGI effects present in much of the film.

In years gone by, Sci-Fi movies used to start with a bit of scrolling text that explained the back plot. Nowadays audiences don't seem to be able to cope with that sort of thing, so it's a voice over that delivers the necessary set up information. A.I. is no exception to this rule. The movie begins with a fatherly narrator explaining how the Earth's climate has been shafted, most of the planet flooded and strict population controls put in place to stop everyone starving to death. But robots, who don't require food to function, are deemed a necessary part of society. This basic premise presents what seems like a continuity error. If the planet has been flooded and there's starvation due to over population, that means there are more than enough people to keep the modern society functioning, so what are the robots needed for? Perhaps it's best just to ignore these sorts of plot holes, and instead sit back and enjoy the movie.

Wholesome married couple Henry (Sam Robards) and Monica (Frances O'Connor), have got it all - lovely house, nice car, plenty of cash. But they still require our sympathy because their young son is in what seems like a permanent coma, the result of his involvement in an accident. Monica is pining for the boy, so Henry gets her a humanoid robotic replacement called David (Haley Joel Osment). He's a prototype whose makers have tried to programme him to feel love, the consequence of which causes him to develop an over-bearing attachment to Monica. When family unity is threatened, Monica realizes David has to go. But if she returns him to the manufacturers he'll be scrapped, and because she does feel something for him she doesn't want that to happen. She works out a compromise, which leads to the film's first really powerful scene. However, because David and Monica are both actually quite irritating characters, I took some pleasure in seeing them suffer (I know, I'm a horrible person).

This is where the film falls down. It serves up doses of sickly sweet sentiment that are just too much to swallow. Had the characters been a little more down to earth and easier to identify with, then I'd have felt what they felt. As it is, I can't feel sympathy for Monica when her life is so perfect, and David is the typical Hollywood robot creation - the mechanical person struggling to understand emotions (think of Data from Star Trek, only more irritating).

Having been rejected by his 'mother', David thinks if he becomes a real boy Monica will love him. This delusion has arisen from Monica's reading of Pinocchio to David as a bedtime story, and subsequently the 'boy' thinks if he can find the Blue Fairy (a character from the book) he'll be turned into a real child. In order to complete this quest he joins up with a robot called Joe (Jude Law). But as neither of them have much idea about the real world, they don't realize the Blue Fairy is just a character in a story. The film plods along on this rather naive storyline, stringing out the ups and downs of David and Joe for over two hours. It's a tedious journey, punctured at every possible moment by bouts of stomach churning sentiment that are so over the top they're impossible to take seriously. And just when you think it can't get any worse, the final few scenes reach new depths of saccharin sickliness.

Originally a long time project of Stanley Kubrick, the movie was taken up by Steven Spielberg after Kubrick's death. This is probably where all the sugar sweet sentiment comes from. I find it hard to believe that Kubrick, the man who bought us A Clockwork Orange, The Shining and Full Metal Jacket, would have been party to a film such as this. Perhaps if there'd been a different actor in the role of David, the movie might have been a bit more watch-able. Haley Joel Osment certainly can act, but his benign robot expression becomes irritating very quickly. The script is probably to blame for Frances O'Connor's performance, as it seems to require her to jump from one hysterical emotion to the next, with hardly a pause for breath in between. The only really decent bit of acting comes from Jude Law, but even though his character starts off interestingly enough, it's soon buried beneath an avalanche of schmaltz.

But having said all this, A.I. does sit well in the company of its peers. What I mean is, it's no better or worse than Minority Report (another Spielberg film) and I Robot. So not only do they share a common vision of the future, but they're all equally as bad when it comes to plot, acting and script.

Rating: * * * * * (Out of 5)

Since they first appeared together in Flying Down to Rio, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers had discovered that the chemistry they had with each other was truly one of a kind. The studios knew it too, and so did anyone who had seen them dance together. The next step was obvious: pair them up; hire the best composers to write the music; and let Mr. Astaire and his long time collaborator Hermes Pan choreograph the dances. This was just pure business common sense. The Pandro S. Berman produced Top Hat has gotten the formula of musicals down to a science. A chart was used to measure the exact timing of each scene, each comedic moments, each dialogue scene, and of course each dance sequence. The production was precise and the product was as close to perfection as it could be.

The plot of the film is entertaining enough, but its purpose is really to set up the dance numbers. Top Hat has two of the most famous dance numbers in cinema history. In the "Isn't This a Lovely Day?" number, Mr. Astaire sweetly courts the lovely Miss Rogers in a gazebo. As they are stranded there by the heavy rain, he sings to her,

Isn't this a lovely day
To be caught in the rain?
You were going on your way
Now you've got to remain

Mr. Astaire dances to woo her and she soon joins in. The dance becomes their conversation, and the two supreme dancers say the most eloquent sentences with their body movements. The smile never left their faces as they dazzle us with their lightening speed footwork. There is no need for dialogues when their delightful movements fully exhibit the joyousness of falling in love. The scene is all the more magnificent due to Mr. Astaire's insistence that it be shot wide with as few cuts as possible. With editing cut down to a minimum, the illusion of cinematic time and space is also minimized, and therefore the viewers cannot help but to marvel at the reality of the dancers' techniques and stamina; and to accept the characters' blissful romance.

"Cheek to Cheek" is perhaps an even more famous number. While the dance is not as flashy as "Isn't This a Lovely Day", the subtext is far more complicated. In a series of mistaken identities, Dale (Ginger Rogers) thinks that Jerry (Fred Astaire) is the husband of her friend, Madge (played by Helen Broderick). Not aware of this mistake and being completely in love with her, Jerry dances with her "cheek to cheek". He sings to her:

Heaven, I'm in heaven
And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak
And I seem to find the happiness I seek
When we're out together dancing cheek to cheek

Dale, who is also in love with Jerry, cannot help but be swooned by romance of the song and the dance. The chemistry between the couple reaches a height that is rare in even their other dances. Ms. Rogers, as the dramatic focus of this number, portrayed her emotional dilemma wonderfully.

Top Hat takes us to a fantasy world where everything is beautifully decorated, everyone is smartly dressed, every mistake can be resolved, and every dance is a small slice of heaven. Along with Swing Time and Singin in the Rain, this wonderful film has reached the limits of its genre and then transcended it. It has to be considered as one of the very best films in the history of cinema.


Directed by Mark Sandrich Writing credits: Allan Scott; Dwight Taylor (also story)
Produced by Pandro S Berman
Original music: Irving Berlin
Cinematography by David Abel
Film editing by William Hamilton
Art direction by Carroll Clark and Van Nest Polglase
Costume Design by Bernard Newman (gown)
Runtime: 101 min

Jerry Travers - Fred Astaire Dale Tremont - Ginger Rogers Horace Hardwick - Edward Everett Horton Madge Hardwick - Helen Broderick Alberto - Erik Rhodes Bates - Eric Blore Curate - Donald Meek Curate's Wife - Florence Roberts Hotel Manager - Gino Corrado Call Boy - Peter Hobbs

1936 Academy Awards nominations:
1. Best Art Direction:Carroll Clark; Van Nest Polglase
2. Best Dance Direction: Hermes Pan (For "Piccolino" and "Top Hat")
3. Best Music, Original Song: Irving Berlin (For the song "Cheek to Cheek")
4. Best Picture

By Christina VanGinkel

My family saw Ice Age, the animated adventure, when it first hit the big screen. All of us, kids and adults, could hardly wait for it to be released on DVD so that we could further enjoy this family style comedy whenever we felt like it. Little did I know that when our young grandson came for a visit when he was just barely two years old, that he would fall so in love with the characters, that we would end up sending him home with our copy.
However, it did not take us long to go and purchase a replacement. We ended up missing it so much that we just had to buy another copy, this for a household where two adults and one teenager live.

When there is nothing good on television, and we just want to grab something that we know, all of us will enjoy and get a couple of laughs from at the same time, we pop in Ice age. If we have company and a little one or two are with, and we want to keep the television viewing suitable for all, we will automatically grab this show.

Ice Age tells the story of three unlikely comrades. A wooly mammoth that goes by the name of Manny, a sloth named Sid, and the saber toothed tiger Diego. There is a fourth character, a nut stashing squirrel, but I do not know if he would be considered a main character as most of his interaction in the show is with his nut and not the other main characters.

The beginning of the show actually starts with the squirrel as he attempts to hide his nut with hilarious and unbelievable results. The main story line though revolves around the other three, Manny, Sid, and Diego. The ice age is in full swing, and as the animals begin their migrations, Sid the sloth finds himself seeking help from an unlikely hero, the one and only Manny, a wooly mammoth. When the two come across a human infant, left abandoned when a pack of saber tooth tigers attack his family, the two unlikely friends take it upon themselves to return the little person to his herd. Enter Diego, one of the very saber tooth tigers that caused all the problems in the first place. First disguising his real reasons for wanting to help them return the baby, he soon ends up on their side, going against everything, and everyone, he has up to this point considered his family. The ending is a good-natured look at how things could be if everyone would just learn to get along.

Ice Age is rated PG for mild peril, but I cannot think of anything that even the youngest viewer would have a problem with, save for a tender hearted person who might be a bit upset when baby goes flying down an ice slide, (actually quite fun looking the way they put the whole scene together!). Some might also be a bit apprehensive when Sid, Manny, and Diego with baby in tow must traverse a hot lava field. Still, it is by far the best, animated film I have yet to see, save for maybe part two, Ice Age, the Meltdown. In comparison, The Meltdown is about equal when it comes to laughs and watch-ability! The Meltdown has yet to be released on DVD though, so for now, any in home viewing of these two sure to be classics, must end with the choice of the first Ice Age. (Watch for the release of Ice Age, The Meltdown on DVD towards the end of November 2006.)

Ice Age stars many voices of well-known actors, and this might have played a part in its popularity when it was first released, though its storyline and animation is what made it into the great show that it is. Manny, the wooly mammoth is brought to life with the voice of everybody's favorite, Ray Romano. Diego, the saber tooth tiger that goes over to the good side is really the voice of Denis Leary. Sid, my personal favorite in the show is transformed into the fun loving sloth that he is with the voice John Leguizamo.

By Simon Woodhouse

Above everything else, movies are a vehicle by which a story is transferred from one group of people (the film makers) into the consciousness of another group of people (the audience). With this basic premise in mind, does it really matter if a film has surround sound, or crystal clear photography? I would say no, because the story is the most important aspect, not the medium by which it's being told.

Last night I went to a one-off screening of Blade Runner at my local cinema. The quality of the film wasn't very good - it had probably been lying in a studio film vault for twenty years, and the sound was pretty basic too. But did it make a difference to the story? Not one bit. When a movie is right it's right, and no matter under what circumstances you see it, the greatness will still shine through. I've watched the film umpteen times on video and DVD, but it's twenty four years since I first saw it at the cinema. And despite what I said in my opening paragraph, it's such a visual film that watching it on a TV (no matter how big) just doesn't do it justice.

As was popular with Sci-Fi films at the time, a few paragraphs of text open the movie. From this we learn about replicants, genetically engineered people who are basically slaves in the year 2019. But they're also very smart and very strong. This sometimes makes them a threat to their masters, and so they're only used on off-world colonies, and outlawed on Earth. The penalty for ignoring this rule is death. This is where the film's main character, Deckard (Harrison Ford), comes into things. It's his job to find and kill any replicant silly enough to come back to Earth.

In this vision of the future however, Earth is in a bit of a state. The film is shot against a backdrop of constant darkness and rain. Set in the city of Los Angeles, it paints the metropolis as an overcrowded hellhole full of the sort of people unable to qualify for a ticket off of Earth.

Into this world of permanent night comes four replicants, compelled to return to Earth in order to find more life. You see, replicants only have a four-year life span, after which they simply drop dead. This makes them more controllable, and stops them developing human emotions that might compel them to not want to be slaves anymore. Though reluctant to do so, Deckard is forced to track down and eliminate the four renegade replicants. This requires a degree of detective work, but he also relies on his gut instinct. However, in what is a rather clever sub-plot, he becomes romantically involved with a replicant called Rachel (Sean Young). She's a prototype, and allowed on Earth only because she's the prodigy of genetic engineering genius Eldon Tyrell (Joe Turkel).

Originally released in 1982, Blade Runner didn't do too well at the box office. At the time, Star Wars was dominating the world of Science Fiction movies, and Blade Runner couldn't be more far removed from that trilogy of films. But to most hardcore Sci-Fi fans, Blade Runner is the movie against which all others are measured. Directed by Ridley Scott (the man behind Alien), it's a dark, humorless vision of the future, and has none of Star Wars' talking robots and furry humanoids.

As the movie progresses, Dekard hunts down the replicants one by one. But their leader, Roy (Rutger Hauer), isn't going to give up without a fight. He's not prepared to accept a four year life span, and so is trying his best to reach Tyrell, the only man who can help him. Eventually he does, and this meeting is one of the film's most powerful scenes. Inevitably the movie's climax involves a face-off between Deckard and Roy. This takes place in an abandoned apartment block, a setting that typifies the state of the Earth as a whole - run down and decaying.

For a Sci-Fi film, Blade Runner contains some beautiful dialogue. And though Harrison Ford is the star, it's Rutger Hauer who steals the show. His every line is delivered with just the right amount of emotion. He's threatening, but at the same time vulnerable, which is an unusual thing for a Sci-fi movie, a genre in which baddies are bad and goodies are good and there's no middle ground. Daryl Hannah also delivers a fine performance (probably the best of her career) in the role as Pris, the sinister replicant girlfriend of Roy. Complimenting the actors and the script, a series of lavish sets give the film a real sense of place. Whether it's Eldon Tyrell's bedroom, Deckard's apartment or the bustling Los Angeles' streets, all the settings blend in to form a complete picture of life on a totally urbanized planet Earth. So you've got good acting, a great script and wonderful sets, what else could you want? Well, there's also a sublime soundtrack courtesy of movie-music guru Vangelis.

All these attributes come together to create what is arguably the greatest Sci-Fi film of all time. Often imitated but never bettered, Blade Runner hasn't lost any of its potency in what is nearly twenty-five years since its release. No Science-Fiction fan's movie collection is complete without a copy of this film. Re-released in 1992, the movie is now available in a Director's Cut, and though this isn't vastly different from the original theatrical version, it does contain a subtle clue as to Deckard's true identity. I'm not going to tell you what that is, as trying to spot it will add yet another level of enjoyment to an already excellent film.

Rating: * * * 1/2 (out of 5)

Just as Jean Luc Godard was one of the pioneers of the French New Wave, John Cassavetes was the pioneer of American independent films. Shadows, Cassavettes' debut film, was released in 1959, the same year as Godard's groundbreaking Breathless. Just as influential as Breathless, Cassavetes' film, made entirely outside of the studio system, sparked the beginning of the American indie movement.

Shadows tells the story of three siblings, Hugh, Leila, and Ben. While they are all African Americans, Ben and Leila have light complexions and are often mistaken as whites. Leila's romance with her two suitors is the center point of the film. One of them, David, a handsome black man, knows that she is black; while the other one, Tony (who is white) does not. She falls in love with David, but when he sees her brother Hugh, and realizes that she is black, he rejects her. Leila's brother Ben tries to become a musician, and the dark skinned Hugh struggles to be a jazz singer. They both try to guide their sister through her difficult time. Considering that all scenes were improvised, the three actors should be lauded for their performances.

Cassavetes had several distinctive styles. One is his reliance on improvisation. Shadows was filmed without a script. Cassavetes would just tell the actors what to say to help them "improvise". Another thing is his fascination of human facial expressions. Unsurprisingly, one trademark feature of his films is the close-up. His close-ups were often shot from unusual angles and lingered on, and this has several effects.

First of all, a close-up has a naturally dramatic effect, it brings the audience closer to the subject, and it deprives us of setting and is therefore disorienting and claustrophobic. More often than not, Cassavetes did not use establishing shots in the beginnings of scenes, and went to close-ups right away. By this method, the audience is forced to figure out what is going on and in return gains a better understanding of the point Cassavetes tried to make. A Cassavetes film rarely tells us what is going on; instead we are shown episodes as they would happen in real life. How we interpret them is all up to us.

Cassavetes' close-ups were always shot from unconventional angles, and sometimes he would play with the aspect ratio and made part of the actor's face out of frame, but they often create striking visual images. For example, in Shadows, there are a number of close-ups shot from the unusual position of behind the ears of the actors.

In Shadows, and in other Cassavetes' films, the close-ups sometimes linger on the actors' faces longer than 'necessary', sometimes without sound. In doing so, Cassavettes had manipulated time. When the audience is unable to see the settings, it is difficult for them to relate to time. In result, it forces the audience to formulate interpretations during this time.

In summary, what separates a John Cassavettes film and mainstream Hollywood pictures is that a Cassavetes' film rarely tells the audience what to think, it is all up to the individual, just like real life.

Shadows is one of the most influential films in American cinema. The film itself is actually quite uneven, in fact, it sometimes seems amateurish, but it is important precisely because it was made with such offhandedness. Cassavetes' film has transcended the norm of polished filmmaking so prevalent in Hollywood. Just like the jazz music on its soundtrack, Shadows introduced to the audience the new realm of filmmaking in America.

Directed by John Cassavetes; produced by Maurice McEndree; released by Lion International Films. Running time: eighty-seven minutes.

Hugh . . . . . Hugh Hurd Lelia . . . . . Lelia Goldoni Ben . . . . . Ben Carruthers Tony . . . . . Anthony Ray Dennis . . . . . Dennis Sallas Tom . . . . . Tom Allen David . . . . . David Pokitillow Rupert . . . . . Rupert Crosse David . . . . . David Jones Pir . . . . . Pir Marini Victoria . . . . . Victoria Vargas Jack . . . . . Jack Ackerman Jacqueline . . . . . Jacqueline Walcott

I don't generally like horror flicks, but because I like Quentin Tarantino I rented this last weekend for fair judgment purposes. I don't think Tarantino was the director, but I guess he produced this film or something similar. You can see his influence but it doesn't seem to be his invention. My general take on a horror movie is that if it is scary scary (meaning suspenseful, emotionally wrenching, just plain creepy, etc.), it might be worth the pain, but if it is bloody scary or weird alien animal thing scary or someone gets cut in half while camping scary, I tend to be on the "they're all the same" side of things, even if it isn't completely true. Well, I don't know if I was expecting scary scary from Quentin Tarantino, but i was expecting something at least semi-unique, falling outside the typical lines of the cookie cutter type horror films that usually come out. In the end, there were some painful and bloody, torturous scenes (both literally and figuratively), but the nice (scary!) part about the movie is the idea behind it. Speaking of which, by the way, you shouldn't continue reading if you haven't seen it, because I'm going to blow it for you if you haven't.

There were some definite Tarantino moments in the movie, but it definitely wasn't his typical fare. The movie centers around two Americans touring Europe, who are naturally, staying in hostels, going out, doing lots of drinking, and everything possible with the girls. There are three guys traveling together in the beginning but one of them disappears so quickly he's easy to forget about (a "drifter" from Iceland whom they have picked up in some random European city).

Here's the plot spoiler: one particular hostel in an eastern-european town whose name has already left me, has a fantastic reputation for hosting a slew of girls who love foreigners. In reality, though, those girls attract, seduce, and then drug and sell their foreign pals to a sick operation in an old factory building in the countryside. We see the boys one by one disappearing, sometimes with other random guests from the hostel. We see hints that they are being held and tortured but we have no idea why for a long time. We even watch one of the boys being tortured terribly and still have no idea what the purpose of this terrible place is. It only becomes clear after the critical moment happens when one of them (inevitably) escapes from his torturer and gets a disgusting inside look at what goes on.

So what's actually happening is that somebody is running this business (for very high stakes!), which allows clients to pay in order to have an innocent traveler bolted to a chair, and free (and privately) access to a table full of all manner of torture instruments. The client can choose the nationality, etc., of its victim, and do whatever he (or she, but there weren't any) wants with him or her, before turning over what's left and paying up. The crazy thing is that the whole town and government seems to be supporting the whole thing (it makes sense, because it should be extremely profitable I guess, though i'm not sure if in the real world it would be so popular), which is clearly evident when the main character gets away and tries to leave not only the gruesome site itself but also the town. There is (obviously) a car in furious pursuit after him, checkpoints in the road out and even the train station is crawling with seeming "agents" of some kind trying to find him.

The movie keeps you guessing about what the hell is really going on, and in that sense it is well put together. Although I wouldn't watch the movie again because the torture scenes are a bit too much for me to wait through a second time, I think it would definitely be interesting to have a second look after you finally know what's really going on, to catch all those tricky details that distract or foreshadow without you ever realizing it the first time around.

While I thought the idea was a clever one for a horror movie, I wasn't THAT impressed with its originality at first, but over the next few days when I found myself still caught up in the idea of being able to torture freely, for a price, I became more and more impressed. When I realized that I was being preoccupied long after the movie not by the obvious questions, like who would want to do such a thing, how can the girls stand to sell random tourists for the price of a fancy fur coat without any qualms, and how do the guys who clean up after all that not get sick, but rather questions like why did that person choose that particular torture, how can they have a pressure so deep inside them that torturing someone brings them actual pleasure (or at least vengeance of some kind?), and how do those people go about their daily lives (for example, those shown to have children) after having experienced that?

Some of the funniest (in a kind of sick way, of course -- Tarantino like, that is) scenes happen when the main character escapes. This is also one of the most tension-filled parts of the movie. He is being tortured, which is always agonizing to watch, but his escape is not trivial and I like that about it. Just before he escapes, his torturer cuts off the last two fingers of one of the boy's hands with a chainsaw (just before chainsawing himself to death when he slips by accident on one of the fingers!) and when the main character escapes he takes the fingers with him, presumably with the hopes of reattaching them somehow. After he escapes, we still don't quite understand what's going on in this torture place, and obviously neither does he, and yet he still has to try to find a way out of there. First he tries to get somewhere by hiding *under* a dead, bloody, broken body that is on a cart set to be "taken out". He doesn't know where it's going to take him, but I guess he doesn't have any idea what to do. Well, "taken out" ends up being to a room where a "butcher" cuts the bodies into little pieces in order to burn them in a furnace (through an old smokestack that is part of the factory and a signature of the torture building). While the "butcher" is cutting up the body that the main character had been hidden under, the two fingers fall on the floor, and there is a stretched, focused scene of the boy trying to pick up his two fingers from the floor with a two-fingered hand. This part is distressing and yet amusing, and is held out just long enough to make the irony fly in your face. Too bad the next body part the butcher picks up to incinerate are the fingers.

After finally escaping (don't worry, there are many details worth seeing that I haven't provided) the boy "runs into" the same man who was on the train with them on the way to the creepy town. They are on the same train back out. In a train station in Germany or somewhere, when they get off the train, he follows the torturer (who by coincidence, is the one who killed the other traveling friend) in to the bathroom, locks the door, and kills him in the stall. Not before, of course, cutting off his last two fingers (which I mistakenly thought at first, he was going to take in order to try to put onto his own hand, but I was very wrong--it was just for revenge I guess). I'm not sure how I feel about this little piece of cheesy vengeance getting, but i certainly wouldn't think of a better way to end the thing. The movie ends shortly after that, with no downflow or aftermath. No knowing what happens to the guy, his fingers, his friend's family, if he tells what happened, if the place is discovered, etc. That's annoying but I think the effect is good. I was satisfied enough with the ending.

There was something intriguing, though, about the man who tortures the main character before he escapes. He seems confused, nervous, and this is the first time you can start to realize that this is not just a place where someone crazy cuts up people for fun, or just someone getting revenge for never getting into medical school doing his own form of sick surgery. As becomes obvious later, this is not someone who was used to torture...he couldn't decide which tools to use, he got visibly bothered when the boy started begging for freedom, first in English, and then in German, which seemed to be the torturer's language. Just when you think he is going to have mercy (because he had clearly "paid for" an American and the boy was convincing him that he was German), he gets even angrier and continues. It's terrible to watch the first time but it's worse when you think about it later, when you realize what was going on. That character, for me, was one of the more thought-provoking ones because he is clearly so nervous and yet still seems to get some sort of pleasure, finally, from the torture.

The creepiest line from the movie for me was when the boys are traveling to the treacherous town on a train, unknowingly sitting next to one of the people who is traveling to the town as a "client" who in the end, cuts up one of the guys. That man, upon hearing that they are going to that hostel because they have heard of the girls there, says "you can pay to do anything in that town. ANYthing." Of course, you don't realize the severity of that line until after the movie, when you realize he wasn't talking about prostitutes or drugs.

Overall, I think the movie was fine, even though I don't like horror films generally. The plot is well-thought-out and certainly thought-provoking. I'm sure that if you like horror movies at all, you are going to like this one. And even if you don't generally, this one may be worth a look.

I usually take very little interest in war movies; my mantra is that, if I want to see violence and gore, I'll just pick up a newspaper or turn on the news channel. We get enough of that in the real world, don't we? However, if the war movies are historical and actually have a plotline behind them, I might be enticed to watch. Maybe I'll even like one or two, especially if the content is familiar to me. This is how the high-action two-part movie "Gettysburg" became part of my collection. It isn't just any other war movie to me; I've visited Gettysburg countless times since I was a tiny little thing and it is very close to my heart; it speaks to me, really. When I found out a new movie was being filmed there (and that it was actually being filmed where the battle happened, and not behind a Hollywood set) I was enthralled.

It's a war movie, so of course there is some violence (the Civil War did have guns and cannons, after all) and scenes that you may not be comfortable with, but the visuals are so stunning and striking that you quickly get swept up in the excitement. If you've even been to Gettysburg, it will be extra fun to pick out buildings and places you recognize. "Gettysburg" isn't just a bland documentary (after watching some of these, I understand why some people aren't as fascinated with history as I am); rather, there are great scenes, compelling relationships, and living, breathing characters. You probably recognize some of the characters if you've studied the war era; General Robert E. Lee, celebrated hero of the South; Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, later to become a general, who led the famous bayonet attack near Little Round Top; and many other generals, staff, and soldiers who are now scattered throughout the pages of our textbooks.

The cast does a fantastic job of bringing their characters to life. After hearing Martin Sheen as he drawled his way through the movie as Robert E. Lee, I found it extremely difficult to believe he doesn't really have a Southern accent. Jeff Daniels shone as the dignified and straight-forward Colonel Joshua Chamberlain, and George Pickett, sweet and businesslike all at the same time, was superbly portrayed by Stephen Lang. There wasn't really a character I didn't like. I couldn't help but feel that more than enough attention was given to the commanding generals, but few personal stories were told about the common soldiers. Some names were given, such as Sergeant Tozier, the 20th Maine's colorbearer, but their cameos were soon gone. The movie is so realistic that you wonder how someone can feign being shot to pieces and lie there for who knows how long, just to show what the horrendous battle was like for the soldiers in July 1863.

If you're like me, you will quickly choose certain parts of "Gettysburg" as your favorites. The beginning of the first movie goes rather slowly, leading up to the two armies' arrivals in the town and the initial confrontation. My personal favorite part of the first half (which ends with the July 2nd engagement at Little Round Top) is when Chamberlain's 20th Maine, a small company with only scant backup and very little ammunition, is met by company after company of determined Alabama soldiers under Col. William Oates. Even when the Maine men lose every last bit of ammunition, Colonel Chamberlain makes a surprising decision; they will lead a bayonet charge. When the command is given to raise bayonets, if sends a shiver down my spine every time. I almost believed that the spirit of Joshua Chamberlain landed in Jeff Daniels at this moment. Some other characters mentioned in the movie are General Lewis Armistead (Richard Jordan), General James Longstreet (Tom Berenger), and Colonel Chamberlain's endearing Irish friend Buster Kilrain, played by Kevin Conway.

If you are emotional (I am also guilty of this charge) you won't be able to get through the end of the second half without a tear; this is where Pickett's Charge is portrayed. Thousands of Southern soldiers make their way across open farmland with no cover in sight; they aren't even allowed to fire until they are closer to the enemy, so they are virtually helpless. When General Lee rides among the soldiers as they get ready to march, he shakes their hands and they cheer him voraciously. It's very hard to remember that it's a movie you are watching, and that they didn't somehow zap you back to 1863. The camera pans along the expanse of field as the countless unnamed soldiers march to the copse of trees; most of them won't make it there alive. Again, I have walked at Pickett's Charge so many times that it was a very emotional part of the film. Surely these reenactors who gave their services for the movie must have felt odd at best, walking the same ground where so many died.

Almost a required viewing in film classes, Chris Marker's La Jetee is a short film that explores the idea of time travel and memory. Later remade into 12 Monkeys by Terry Gilliam, Marker's film was light years ahead of its time. It is often credited as the major influence on subsequent films about time travel, such as The Terminator films.

By only using still photographs, Marker makes La Jetee seem more like an essay than a film. However, from camera work to editing, the language of film is evident everywhere. Considered to be more of a visual artist rather than purely a filmmaker, Marker actually had a very interesting life. He started out as a writer; then turned his attention to documentary films. He was also a photographer, a poet, a journalist, a multimedia artist, and a world traveler.

In the film, World War III has destroyed Paris, and the post nculear war survivors do research on time travel in hope of sending someone back in time to prevent the war. The man chosen is a prisoner. His childhood memories of a woman he saw during a violent incident at the Orly Airport terminal is used as a trigger to send him back in time. He is sent back repeatedly and he gets to meet and speak with the woman from his memories . After many experiments, the experimenters decide to send him to the future, where he meets the people of the future who possess technology that could help his society. He is given a power unit that could save his people. Upon his return, he is no longer of use to his experiementers, and is to be executed. But the people of the future come to his rescue. When asked where in time he would like to escape to, he chooses to return to his childhood. When he is returned to his childhood, he finds himself at the Orly Airport terminal, and the violent incident that he witness was his own death as an adult.

In La Jetee, Instead of showing us 24 continuous photographs per second, Marker shows us only one per several seconds. That 1/50th of a second that would otherwise be insignificant becomes a moment of huge importance. That moment is frozen in time for us to live, to interpret, to feel or to analyze. We all have a mind of our own, and in subjects as grand and deep as time and memory, it is far more satisfying for the viewers to be stimulated rather than be told what to think. The plot of the film is only secondary to its idea.

That being said, La Jetee is not just a compilation of unrelated photographs. The photographs are connected, however sparsely, by the syntax of film. There is a shot of a girl looking one way and then followed by a point of view shot; there are action shots followed by reaction shots. It is basically a film connected entirely by jump shots. The film is made during the French New Wave period, and Marker is prominent member of that movement. It is clear to see the influence of his peers on this film and his on his peers' works.

Marker also uses a unique way of storytelling and that is the circular narration. Just as in Citizen Kane, or in some of Alain Resnais' films, we can watch La Jetee many times and still unsure of which scene follows which. While time flows in one direction in our physical world, and the human mind conditioned to accepting that fact, the world of cinema allows artists like Marker to freely explore the possibility of multi-dimensionalism and that he did. In La Jetee, we flow from one dimension to another. Although the logic is not without flaws, the film is short enough to us to ignore it.


Produced by: Anatole Dauman
Directed by Chris Marker
Written by Chris Marker
Original Score: Trevor Duncan
Cinematography: Chris Marker
Editing by: Jean Ravel
Cast:
Jean Negroni... Narrator (voice)
Helene Chatelain ... The Woman
Davos Hanich ... The Man
Jacques Ledoux ... The Experimenter

Release date: 1962
Country: France
Language: French
Runtime: 28 min

Awards: Prix Jean Vigo 1963 - Short Film

One of the most thought provoking and inspirational films I've ever had the pleasure of viewing. Spend 122 minutes lost in the reality created by director Sam Mendes and the gifted cast...you'll laugh, you'll cringe, and you'll weep with joy as well as sorrow. It was promoted in what seemed to me a rather unusual fashion, most of the focus on the 'older unhappily married man wanting to bang a gorgeous teen girl who happens to be friends with his daughter' plotline...what the movie actually has to offer is a blatant, no holds barred submersion into the life of a man who has forgotten how to live.

Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) is a 42 year old man who has been gradually beaten into submission by his increasinly domineering wife Carolyn (Annette Bening), disillusioned with his job in the advertising world, and one of the major disappointments in the life of his daughter, Jane (Thora Birch). The introductory voice over is Lester speaking to us, describing his life in the past tense. He informs us that as we enter his life, he's 42 and will be dead in less than a year, though he doesn't know it yet. He starts every morning by jerking off in the shower, which is usually the high point of his day. Type A, anal retentive wife Carolyn is outside pruning her roses, complete with matching clogs, pruner, garden gloves and apron. She exudes perfection...her home, her car, her career as a real estate agent...on time, organized...and Lester is the big loser, running behind, nearly emotionless and completely exhausted by his very existence.

At dinner that evening, after yet another monotonous day for Lester (during which he is forced to meet with the 'efficeincy expert' at work and is informed that he will have to create a written sales pitch for himself in order to keep his job) he asks Jane how her day at school was. She says 'it was okay' and Lester replies 'just OKAY' and Jane counters 'No, Dad...it was SPECTACULAR' and leaves the table after asking him what more could he expect from her as he has barley spoken to her in months.

Carolyn decides that they must take more of an interest in Jane's life and drags him to watch her cheer at a basketball game...there's a special dance number she's been working on for weeks, but instead of watching his daughter Lester is entranced by her friend, aspiring model Angela Hayes (Mena Suvari). His intense attraction for her becomes his catalyst for change, though at this point we're reasonably sure he is beyond redemption.

The process of Lester surmounting all that has pinned him down is the core issue of the film...and should serve as an example to us all. Why do we allow those close to us, or those who sign our paychecks, control our lives completely with us uttering naught a word of protest? Is it fear of loss, fear of conflict, or is what we've become so far from where we began that we can't help but hate ourselves? Lester first stands up to Carolyn...she catches him jerking off while lying next to her in bed (thinking of Angela, of course) and instead of quietly accepting her tirade and apologizing he places the blame where it should lie...with her and her lack of interest in him sexually, choosing instead to focus on what everyone else thinks of her and her career. It appears that she wasn't always this Carolyn...at one point later on in the film, Lester asks her what happened to the Carolyn who would run the stairs of their apartment building to flash traffic helicopters. He loved that Carolyn, and as he discovers the old Lester, he realizes that one of his fondest wishes is to have her back.

We're introduced to the new neighbors, the Fitts'...retired Marine Frank, zombie-like wife Barbara, and son Ricky...who wanders with a camera filming nearly everything he sees. He takes an interest in Jane, whom he thinks is beautiful...and also supplies Lester with some marijuana that helps him recall earlier times when life was peaceful, meaningful and worthwhile.

Lester winds up quitting his job with a nice severance package, giving him the opportunity to further assert himself and find not only who he used to be but discover the man he'd like to become. He and Ricky get to know each other a bit better, and Lester is purchasing grass from him regularly. When Lester sees Ricky's room and all of his electronic toys they begin speaking about work and childhood...one of the best lines from the film (though there are many) is when Lester tells Ricky that he spent a summer flipping burgers and Ricky replies that it must have sucked to do so and Lester stares dreamily into space and smiles, saying 'No, actually, it was great...all I did was party and get laid.'.

The story comes to a head one rainy night and ends with Lester being shot point blank in the head while holding a photo of himself, Jane and Carolyn at an amusement park, thinking for the first time in a long time that things might actually turn out to be okay.

Mendes' directing allows us to see not only the story written by Allen Ball...he provides us with a not always pleasant look deep inside ourselves and at our lives. Time is short, and today IS the first day of the rest of your life...unless it's your last. An amazing commentary on society and what it has become, and how the optimism of youth quickly turns to the pessimistic negativity of adulthood...and how we'll do almost anything to get it back, no matter how late.

Rating: * * 1/2 (Out of 5)

L'idole is like a delicious looking dish, but once you get past the delicate presentation, it ultimately lacks flavors. The missing ingredient is the absence of any character depth. Director Samantha Lang's two main characters, and to a certain extent, the supporting characters, go about doing what they do without much motivation, at least not motivations that are detectable by the audience. Therefore their actions come across without much conviction.

A young Australian woman, Sarah Silver (played by Leelee Sobieski) moves into an apartment building and becomes the center of attention of all her neighbors. Monsieur Zao (played by James Hong), an old Chinese man, is especially affected by her presence. Zao is considering moving to a retirement home, until one day, Sarah, a stage actress, asks Zao to help her fix her lamp. The two neighbors, both foreigners and both lonely, develop an unlikely friendship which borders on a romance but never quite crosses that line. He cooks delicious Chinese food for her; he takes care of her, sometimes like a grandfather would to his granddaughter, but often more like a servant. She sees qualities of the old man that her lover lacks but knows better than to have an actual romantic relationship with him. Their subtle relationship is the center piece of the film, and here is where the film fails.

Zao is supposed to be enigmatic, but he is so much so that we have no idea who he is, what he is thinking about, or what he really wants. James Hong, a veteran Asian-American actor who has small parts in numerous films (most famously in a Seinfeld episode as the manager of a Chinese restaurant who would not let Jerry and the gang have their table), has a rare chance to shine in a lead role. However, the role is so underwritten that Hong's tacit interpretation only adds to the confusion of the character's motives. Leelee Sobieski shows off her impressive linguistic skills in the film. Her French is excellent, and her Australian accent is impeccable. Miss Sobieski obviously has talents, but she seems to have problems picking good roles, and she has yet again wasted her talent here. The relationship between Sarah and Zao just does not seem plausible enough to engage the viewers. There is this theme of "theatre of life", and we are supposed to believe that Sarah is the actress and Zao is the audience. But I am never sure.

Screenwriter Gerard Brach is a long time collaborator of Roman Polanski's. He also wrote the screenplay adaptation of Marguerite Duras's autobiographical novel The Lover, which is about a young French girl's love affair with a much older Chinese man in Indo-China. Australian director Samantha Lang is also a gifted director whose previous works include The Monkey Mask, and The Well. She shows glimpses of visual brilliance here and there in L'idole, and I like to think that it is not just a gimmick that she did a French film with two English speaking actors. Another complaint is the choice of music. Gabriel Yared's jazzy score would seem more suitable for a Woody Allen comedy than this rather laconic film.

The little girl who plays Caroline in the film, Marie Loboda, is fast becoming the next Emmanuelle Beart. Even though the motivation of her character is just as unclear, if not more so, than the two leads, her performance shows such promise that she almost stole the film.

L'idole is ultimately unsatisfying simply because even though the premise of an older man/younger woman relationship is intriguing, the end product is half baked at best. Other films of the same premise, but are better made, that come to mind are, Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation or Kieslowski's Rouge. Unlike L'idole, the characters in those films have the depth for the viewers to care about them even after the films have ended.


Starring: Leelee Sobieski, James Hong, Yves Montand, Robert Berri, Danielle Godet, Suzanne Dhelly, Yves Deniaud, Albert Prejean, Lilian Roycre, Remy Roubakha, Jean-Paul Roussillon, Jacques Sernas, Liliane Montevecchi., Marie Loboda

Director: Samantha Lang
Writing Credits: Gerard Brach; Samantha Lang; Michelle Tourneur
Produced by: Olivier Debosc; Marc Missionier
Original Music by: Gabriel Yared
Cinematography by: Benoit Delhomme
Film Editing by: Chantal Hymans

Running time: 113 minutes. Year of release: 2002. Language: French

Nearly everyone in this world enjoys a good horror movie. The problem?
Very few horror good movies are actually being made these days.

If you're a Pay Per View kind of person, or perhaps the Blockbuster type, you may come across a movie entitled, Silent Hill. It was made in 2006 (usually not a good thing when a movie comes out on Pay Per View so soon after it was released). Still, that doesn't mean everything, does it? The movie could still be good.

Read on to find out.

The Silent Hill main cast is as follows: Radha Mitchell (the mother) and Jodelle Ferland (daughter, Sharon), and Sean Bean (the father, a man that hardly has a role). In short, the movie starts off leaving viewers with great anticipation. A stunning woman (Radha Mitchell), is screaming the name "Sharon," at the top of her lungs. She's barely dressed, outside, and clearly frightened. A man soon follows out of their home with the same objective (Sean Bean), but the woman is way ahead of him. She runs underneath a bridge and then comes to a clearing near a set of cliffs.
And there she finds the person she has been looking for, her sleepwalking daughter, Sharon. Sharon is standing at the cliff's edge; she looks zoned out, even zombie- like. She seems to be drifting, not really hearing her mother's cries. Then she leans forward, about to fall from the cliff when her mother tackles her, saving her from a deadly cliff dive.

All the while, struggling on the damp ground underneath her mother, Sharon keeps screaming the same thing over and over again; the same two words that she verbalizes every time something like this happens.

"Silent Hill."

Soon after we come to find that Sharon has been drawing strange pictures. The medications her doctors have prescribed for her don't seem to help the sleepwalking, nor the terror she is experiencing. What's worse, she doesn't know what is going on and has no recollection of any of her strange behaviors afterwards.

So the family, really the mother, begins to do some research (this has apparently happened in the past, as viewers don't really get to see any of the research taking place). Perhaps not so luckily, they find something. Silent Hill is actually a town. A ghost town, located in West Virginia. Sharon's mother (Rose), despite her father's protests, decides to drive her daughter down to Silent Hill, even if the entire town is apparently littered with ashes (the underground heat there is unreal).

At present, because of this, Silent Hill is no longer a place that humans live. Or at least that's what everyone assumes.

To give away anymore specifics would be to give away the movie. So here are some generalities.

First, Rose takes Sharon to Silent Hill despite local warnings not to. Second, this is one of those stories about past injustices coming back to haunt people.

Specifically, the movie focuses on terrible evils done in the name of religion. Cult- like religion. Last, it seems that many who live around Silent Hill are in on a little secret.

An evil secret.

Silent Hill starts off with some steam, for sure. The acting by the main stars isn't terrible, even if the rest of the cast, for the most part, doesn't exactly do a stellar job. Here's the thing, though. The premise behind Silent Hill is a good one for a horror movie, and there are certainly instances where the movie comes through. But. . .

The bad guys- you know, the monsters that are always present in horror flicks- are, well, pretty ridiculous. Further, though you find out what caused the evil that Sharon's family ends up at odds with, you never really get a true understanding of the nature of it. That is, there are too many questions left unanswered at the end of Silent Hill.

Everyone likes a little room for imagination, but come on.

So, in sum, Silent Hill is a movie that starts off well. Further, the main actors aren't bad, even if some of the background cast just doesn't fit the bill. Unfortunately, the movie doesn't answer all the questions that it should and the monsters are completely far- fetched.

Last problem- the film is very gory for no understandable reason.

So, Silent Hill really ends up being a B horror movie. For a B horror movie, Silent Hill deserves a C- grade. Could've been a lot better, for sure.

Therefore, unless you're a huge horror fan or someone that enjoys gore, you may want to pass on Silent Hill. It's really for those that can't get enough horror.


Robert Rousseau

Rating: * * * * (Out of 5)

17 years after its release, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure is still a most excellent cult comedy classic. There are obvious flaws but the movie has so much charm that makes it easy to overlook those minor imperfections.

Our two heroes, Bill S Preston, Esquire (played by Alex Winter) and Ted "Theodore" Logan (played by Keanu Reeves), are two simple-headed, easy going, high school kids who dream of becoming famous rock stars, though neither one even knows how to play the guitar. However, they will become famous rock stars, as Rufus (played by George Carlin) tells us from the future. Their band, Wyld Stallyns, will become the most influential band in the world; their music will end war; it will bring harmony, and it will change the world. The problem is that Bill and Ted are about to flunk their history class, and if that happens, Ted will be sent to military school, and Wyld Stallyns will not exist. So the future depends on our two idiot heroes giving a most triumphant final oral presentation on important historical figures in order to pass the class. Since Ted thinks that Caesar was "a salad dressing dude" and they think that Socrates is pronounced "So Crates", it does not bode well for the future. As they say themselves, ''We are about to fail most egregiously".

The night before the oral presentation, when Bill and Ted are at a convenient store, a phone booth appears out of nowhere. As Bill observes, "Strange things are afoot at the Circle K!" Out steps Rufus from the phone booth to tell them that the booth is actually a time machine. It is to help them do their history report. Here is where the fun begins as Bill and Ted travel through different historical periods and interacting with various famous historical figures such as Joan of Arc, Beethoven, and Genghis Khan.

Even though the screenwriters, Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon, could and should have made the historical figures a little bit more than just foils, it is still highly amusing to hear Ted say, "Come on So Crates!" or them call Sigmund Freud, "Frood". The funniest moments in the film are also some of the silliest. You have to give credits to Matheson and Solomon for coming up with a scene that has "So Crates" and Bill the Kid hitting on girls at a Mall food court.

The film itself is no masterpiece. Director Stephen Herek's narrative approach is a straightforward one, which sometimes seems a bit underwhelming. But there is no question that the film works because of the chemistry between the two leads. Their excellent exchanges, with amusing uses of superlatives, have inspired a generation of dudes. It is also obvious that Bill and Ted are the inspiration of Mike Meyers' Wayne and Garth. Keanu Reeves has of course gone on to much bigger things. Speed and the Matrix trilogy made him one of the biggest action stars in the world. However, Ted "Theodore" Logan remains his most likable and most charming role.

Watching Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure today, it is noticeable how innocent the film is, but it is part of the charm. Compare it to recent teen comedies, there is not much sexual references in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, even though there is one hilarious line Ted says about Bill and his step mother. The teen comedy genre has evolved into something quite different. If the film was made today, it would probably be too tame to attract its target audience.


''Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure'' has been rated PG (''Parental Guidance Suggested''). It includes some mildly vulgar language. Directed by Stephen Herek; written by Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon; director of photography, Timothy Suhrstedt; edited by Larry Bock and Patrick Rand; music by David Newman; production designer, Roy Forge Smith; produced by Scott Kroopf, Michael S. Murphey and Joel Soisson; released by Orion Pictures. Running time: 90 minutes. This film is rated PG. Stars: Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, George Carlin, Terry Camilleri, Dan Shor, Tony Steedman, Rod Loomis, Al Leong, Jane Wiedlin, Robert V. Barron, Clifford David, Hal Landon Jr., Bernie Casey, Amy Stock-Poynton, J. Patrick McNamara

There are very few movies that I not only enjoy immensely, but find myself watching again and again. Movies aren't a really big thing to me, but sometimes I will hit upon one that becomes one of my favorites. Coming in at a close second behind my beloved Pirates of the Caribbean would have to be National Treasure. What is it about this movie that lights the imagination? The story is fresh and new; middle-aged Ben (Nicolas Cage), whose family has searched for a so-called "treasure" for generations, is ridiculed because he has more technology at his hand and actually goes out to look for clues; when he comes back mostly empty-handed except for a handwritten note or a letter, the scorn grows. Finally, he decides to try his hand at "borrowing" the Declaration of Independence and seeing if it does, indeed, have a map sketched into the back.

Ben's plans are complicated by Riley (Justin Bartha), his bumbling assistant who actually knows what to say sometimes, and Abigail, played by Diane Kruger, who is in charge of protecting the precious document they are trying to confiscate. There aren't many slow-paced parts in this movie (which was a breath of fresh air, considering how slowly some plots seem to run). Taking the Declaration and following its clues isn't easy; efforts are hindered by bad guy Ian Howe, brought to life by Sean Bean, who does a sizzling job as a villain. As the heroes race through the terrific historical setting of Philadelphia (I admit, being a history fan, that was one of my favorite parts) they are constantly watching out for Ian and his henchmen. For all you history lovers out there, the parts at the beginning that show the Egyptians, Romans, and Crusaders are really authentic and one of my favorite, though brief, parts of the movie. These first costumes are superb.

Each clue takes the group to another perilous adventure until it seems all hope is lost. I won't spoil the ending for those who haven't seen it, but I guarantee there won't be a dry eye. This is definitely a great family film. The characters are vibrant and endearing, the plots are fast-paced, well-written, and colorful, and you can't help but pity the villain a little bit - after all, he's so grumpy, he musn't have many friends (unless you count his henchmen). When the group disappears into a dark tunnel underneath a vault in a colonial church, and the very floors begin crumbling underneath, it's a real adrenaline surge. There is certainly little room for viewer boredom. The only slow parts of the film are at the beginning; it seems to take a while to lead up to the dramatic chases, but it's well worth it to see such a great film. Don't expect to only watch it once; it's one of those amazing movies you can see very often and still not be tired of it.

At first glance the ending seems a little too predictable, but it's written beautifully and full of exciting surprises. You learn that, even if you expected it to end this way, it's different from your expectations. One of the best parts of the ending? The villain gets his just dessert. The FBI agents, planning to put Ben in prison for his somewhat illegal activities, are gratified for the work he has done for the country and decide to punish Ian and his men instead. You can't help but laugh when they find him in Boston, obviously guilty, ready to break into a centuries-old church. "After all, someone's got to go to jail, Ben," the FBI tells him. And it's not going to be Ben! There's an added bonus for romance lovers; Ben even finds the girl of his dreams, in the person of - you guessed it - Abigail Chase, the very woman who tried to thwart his efforts to make off with the Declaration. You can't help but pity Riley Poole, Ben's sweet and often confused assistant; after trekking around the country for months looking for an elusive "National Treasure," all he gets (gasp) is a multi-thousand dollar sports car with all the fixin's. Oh don't you pity him!

National Treasure was released in 2004. I watched the movie soon after it made its debut, and at Christmas I was the owner of my own cherished copy. I hope someone hatches a plan to produce a sequel one of these days, though I doubt it could be anywhere near as fascinating as the original.

By Lacie R. Schaeffer

Prior to sitting down to watch The Brother's Grimm, I knew that it had been a box office bomb and that many critics and casual viewers alike thought it was a bad movie. But I am a big fan of both Matt Damon and Heath Ledger, so I wanted to at least give this movie a chance. I seized the opportunity when my local video store offered $1 rentals last week. Unfortunately, even that proved too much to pay for this turkey of a film!

The Brothers Grimm starts out promisingly enough. We get an establishing scene of Jakob and Wilhelm as youngsters and see that Jakob once sold the family cow for a handful of magic beans instead of getting money to purchase medicine for his deathly ill sister.

We then flash forward several years later to a time when Jake (Heath Ledger) and Will (Matt Damon) are in their early twenties. The Brothers Grimm are renowned throughout Germany, not as storytellers, but as saviors. What they do is go into small towns that are having mysterious problems and "cleanse" the towns of the supernatural forces (usually witches) that are causing the problems. Apparently, the brothers learned long ago that it was easy to bilk superstitious peasants out of their money by putting on an elaborate show to make the peasants believe that they actually were being haunted by a witch.

I thought that twist was actually pretty clever, and wished the main plot had stuck to that particular storyline. But that's not how it went at all. Instead, the brothers get arrested as con artists and face severe punishment. In order to save themselves, they must help investigate the mysterious disappearances of several young children in another village.

During the course of their investigation, they come across some indications that the surrounding forest may truly be enchanted. Jake, the one who traded for magic beans as a young boy, believes wholeheartedly that they are up against honest to goodness black magic. Will, the one who orchestrated most of the cons the brothers pulled off, doesn't believe it for a second. The rest of the movie then deals with Jake and Will trying to find out what really happened to the children and then trying to save them before it's too late.

I thought The Brothers Grimm was a pretty bad movie. The whole thing was very uneven, and it seemed like the filmmakers couldn't decide what tone they wanted to take. At times, it was funny (or at least it attempted to be funny), and at other times, it was dark and brooding -- almost scary. These switches were a bit hard to follow, and as a viewer, I didn't know which parts I was supposed to take seriously and which ones were meant to be the opposite.

As I mentioned above, I didn't like the plot at all. I really feel that this would have been a much more interesting film if director Terry Gilliam and screenwriter Ehren Kruger had chosen to follow the Grimms as con artists angle throughout the whole thing. But because of the path the plot did go down, it was necessary to bring in additional (and completely annoying) characters, such as Cavaldi (played by Peter Stormare). Stormare's character was clearly suppoed to provide comic relief, but I didn't find him the least bit amusing. I cringed every time he appeared on the screen and then squirmed uncomfortably until the scene finally ended. I thought Stormare was just terrible in this!

Moreover, I was disappointed by the performances of both Damon and Ledger. They've both done amazing work in the past and are commonly referred to as two of the best young actors of this generation. However, their talents never had a chance to shine through in The Brothers Grimm, and I spent a lot of time wondering why they ever agreed to take on such a project as this.

Overall, there's nothing I can find in The Brothers Grimm to recommend it. It doesn't know which genre it wants to belong to, the acting by all the major characters is subpar, and the plot is boring and hard to follow. Save your money (even if it is just a dollar) and avoid this bomb!

By Simon Woodhouse

How do you create a cinematic icon? I think the answer to this question is you don't, they create themselves. But there are two ingredients that seem to help the process along - time and audience appreciation. Most decent movies create a bit of buzz when they're first released, however ninety nine percent of them quickly disappear off the radar. Of the ones that stick around, it's usually the film itself that remains in the public consciousness, rather than individual characters. In the case of Kill Bill Volume One, the movie still has a keen following, but it's Uma Thurman's character (simply known as 'The Bride' in the first episode) who's well on the way to achieving iconic status.

Thurman has always had an air of natural cool about her, even when her movie career has taken a wrong turn. She seems to be the sort of actress who always comes out smelling of roses, even if the films she's in stink. However, her place in cinema history is now assured thanks to her performance in Kill Bill.

This film lays its cards on the table right from the word go. The very first scene has The Bride lying in a pool of blood, looking as though she's been beaten to within an inch of her life. Kill Bill is a violent film, no doubt about it. It's also a movie that tells its story in a series of overlapping flashbacks. So after seeing The Bride looking as though she's at death's door, she next appears in the prime of life, and well enough to engage in a rather brutal knife fight. This confrontation, however, is broken up by a few moments of humor. The Bride's adversary is a stay-at-home mom, and they're interrupted when one of the youngsters arrives home from school. Both women warn the little girl against treading on any of the broken glass their altercation has left scattered about the lounge. The toddler then heads off to her room, and the two fighters carry one where they left off. Moments like this pop up throughout the movie, but if overly violent films aren't your thing, they'll do little to encourage you to keep watching.

As the film rolls on, we learn that The Bride was once part of a group of assassins known as the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad. But their leader, Bill (he's half of the film's title) fired her, and when you get fired from an assassination squad it's not pleasant. The scene right at the beginning of the movie was The Bride's last day at work as an assassin. What follows on from that is her efforts to get even with the rest of the squad, and by 'get even', I mean kill them.

Having jumped back and forth a bit more, the movie arrives at a point in time where The Bride is lying in hospital in a coma, one year after being 'fired' by Bill. She wakes up, deals with a rather unpleasant orderly who's been taking advantage of her while she was out of it, and sets off on her revenge quest. Now the knife fight with the stay-at-home mom was her first act of revenge, so now we jump forward again to victim number two. All this might sound a bit confusing, but each new passage in time starts with an onscreen snippet of text that helps to explain what's happening.

Victim number two on The Bride's 'must kill' list is O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu), the head of a Japanese crime gang known as the Crazy Eighty Eight. This character is introduced via a segment of blood-thirsty, Manga style animation. In order to get O-Ren, The Bride feels as though she must have a samurai sword, but not just any samurai sword, one made by master sword smith Hattori Hanzo (Sonny Chiba). She hops on a plane to Japan, gets the sword and faces off against O-Ren and her mob. This section of the film dominates almost three quarters of the running time, and culminates in a spectacular sword fight between The Bride and all of the Crazy Eighty Eight. She then hacks her way past O-Ren's personal bodyguard Go Go Yubari (a rather sinister looking Japanese teenage girl), and faces off against the main woman herself.

These fight scenes last for about half an hour, but you can just tell they took weeks to film. And even though the physics are all wrong (people run up walls and jump further than they should, that sort of thing), they're still very watch-able. Sure they're violent, but it's almost a cartoon type of violence, in so much as it's so over the top you can't really take it seriously.

Uma Thurman makes this movie, and I can't imagine any other actress playing the lead role as well as she does. Lucy Liu is good as well, but beside Thurma, it's Sonny Chiba as the Japanese sword smith who's the other standout character. Originally intended as a three-hour marathon of high energy violence, volume one doesn't need to be watched before volume two in order to be enjoyed. However, if you like this film you'd be daft not to watch the other half of the saga. If you don't like it, then you won't like volume two either. Because Kill Bill is what it is, it's one of those films people either love or hate. And that's what adds to its greatness - it's a no-holds-barred, unapologetic, in-your-face action movie, which also has excellent dialogue, top-notch acting, and Uma Thurman too.

DRACULA VS FRANKENSTEIN (1971)

Producer Sam Sherman and Director Al Adamson made some of the coolest (albeit god awfully bad) B-Movies for the Drive In market in the 1960's and 1970's. Their distribution company, Independent International has since become legendary

Despite the fact the name of the film prominently mentions the presence of Dracula and the Frankenstein Monster, believe it or not, they weren't even in the original version of the film, but edited into it because the original film, a biker movie (!) was so awful that the producers decided to shift gears and turn it into a horror film. Needless to say, this brilliant decision created one of the loopiest horror films ever made.

A little bit of background: Independent International had a huge hit with a biker film called SATAN'S SADISTS in 1969. The biker movie craze had become huge after the release of EASY RIDER, THE WILD ONE and THE BORN LOSERS, but the success of SATAN'S SADISTS took the world by surprise as it did in excess of ten million dollars at the box office. A sequel was put into production called SATAN'S BLOOD FREAKS, but at some point either during production itself or in post production Adamson and Sherman felt the film was even beyond their usual standards for awful. Confused as to how to salvage the film, they came up with the brilliant idea of cutting Dracula and Frankenstein into the film and the incoherent mess that resulted is mind boggling.

The film was later promoted as BLOOD OF FRANKENSTEIN, but there was a problem with the laboratory developing the film and the lab refused to release it to the producers. So, instead of the planned 1970 release, there was a delay of a year and a half and when it did come out, it was released as DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN where it played on a double bill with FRANKENSTEIN'S BLOODY TERROR, the film that was substituted to theaters a year earlier to fulfill BLOOD OF FRANKENSTEIN'S theater bookings that could not be met when the lab pulled its power play.

The plot of the film has a woman searching for her missing sister who has been murdered by an axe wielding Lon Chaney Jr. in order to aid J. Carrol Nash (as Dr. Duray and Dr. Frankenstein using names from both scripts!) with his super blood serum. The locals suspect the local bike gang as the villains and their menacing presence is merely random scenes from the original version of the film. Dracula shows up and tells Duray he knows he is really Dr. Frankenstein and he needs him to use the blood serum to bring back the Frankenstein Monster in order to create a race of super Frankenstein Monsters that will take over the world. Heard enough?

NONE OF THIS MAKES ANY SENSE WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE FILM!

Yet, I think I have seen this nonsense 20 times having first caught it on TV in the early 1980's and later in the late 1980's watching it on the old Super Video VHS release. The film was weird to watch on Saturday Afternoon TV because it was such a radical departure from the black and white horror movies that aired on TV in those days. (Similarly, the color film COUNT YORGA VAMPIRE (1970) was wild stuff to view on Saturday afternoons as well, although COUNT YORGA was an excellent film, while this silliness is just a weird surreal trip through cinema insanity!)

The DVD release contains cool commentary from producer Sherman as well as the very weak original ending that was wisely re-shot into the crazy ending where Dracula, well, for those who did not see the film yet, let's just say Dracula does some really cruel things to the Frankenstein Monster in conjunction with the ending.

I guess you could make the (under) statement that this film is definitely not for everyone, but those who totally dig weird and wacky horror films may end up getting a kick out of this crazy patchwork horror movie. Some may wish to use the skip button and just watch the monster mayhem in order to avoid getting a headache trying to figure out the bizarre (non) plot.

Five Stars on the Weirdness Scale.

WEREWOLF SHADOW (1970)

Yes, the name of the film is WEREWOLF SHADOW, not WEREWOLF'S SHADOW nor THE WEREWOLF'S SHADOW, but the loss of proper grammar is no biggie when you watch the incredibly rare trailer for the film the boomingly loud voice of the narrator bellows "WEREWOLF SHADOW!" over and over again and it is pretty cool to hear.

This Spanish production was originally titled THE NIGHT OF WALPURGIS, this was Paul Naschy's fourth outing as Waldemar Danisky the Werewolf having previously played the role in the excellent MARK OF THE WEREWOLF, the silly, but fun ASSIGNMENT TERROR (aka THE MONSTERS OF TERROR) and the incredibly idiotic mess THE FURY OF THE WOLFMAN. This outing, despite being the fourth film in the series, was drew significantly bigger domestic Spanish box office than the other films which really made the bulk of their profits outside of Spain drawing solid crowds in the rest of Western Europe as well as picking up distribution rights fees for releases in the United States.

WEREWOLF SHADOW was released in the United States under the title WEREWOLF VS. VAMPIRE WOMAN in 1973 where it played briefly in drive ins. The film was later dumped onto the video market in America in the 1980's under the title BLOOD MOON and the VHS release was horribly murky and brutally chop edited. At the time, it was believed the print was struck from an edited for TV print although it is doubtful the film actually played on TV at all. Later, bootleg copies of the film turned up under it's the WEREWOLF VS. VAMPIRE WOMAN moniker and the same cuts were present with all the gore and R Rated mayhem snipped.

A few years ago, Anchor Bay Entertainment released the film in a totally uncut version under the title WEREWOLF SHADOW which was the original English language dubbed cut designed for export to English speaking territories. When the film reached the US, the opted to forgo the WEREWOLF SHADOW name and edit and create the inferior WEREWOLF VS VAMPIRE WOMAN title.

Actually, Anchor Bay's release of WEREWOLF SHADOW reinserts some dialogue scenes from the original Spanish language version that were never dubbed into English. These scenes are subtitled here making this release the definitive English language cut of the film.

For those interested in the plot (as if), two women find their car has broken down on a lonely road and they must take refuge in an old abandoned castle. In the castle, Waldemar the Werewolf is residing so as to avoid killing any people in a populated area. Unfortunately, the castle is near the bones of the late Elizabeth Bathory the Vampire Woman and when she is accidentally brought back from the grave, it is up to Waldemar to send her back to her grave. He does this in werewolf form, of course! Mucho mayhem ensues!

This is a really cool film that gains a great deal of its power from the incredibly haunting direction of Leon Klimovsky who really makes the Vampire Woman out to be truly frightening. Despite the low budget, the film has a great look and the mood is provocative. Naschy also looks great as the werewolf, bouncing back from poor special effects make up that hurt him in his previous two films. This is definitely one of the best Spanish horror films of the 1970's and it is great to see it on DVD.

REPEAT: GREAT TO ACTUALLY SEE! The previous VHS release and all the lame bootleg prints were of horrible quality and the picture was awful. This picture and sound here looks incredible and does the film justice.

The extras on the DVD are fine as they include rare theatrical trailers for the film and cool American TV spots with the VAMPIRE WOMAN title. The picture quality of the television commercials is a little lacking, but they are so rare this is not surprising. Pristine mint 16mm prints of the TV spots have probably all either degraded or have long since been destroyed. For audio fans, rare radio ads are included too as well as an outstanding 20 minute short featuring an interview with Naschy today reflecting on his career.

This is a great B-Movie and one of Naschy's absolute best!

I'd heard of Ray Charles long before the 2004 biographical film Ray hit the silver screen in 2004, but I didn't know much about him. I couldn't name a single song that he had either penned or performed and I couldn't really tell you anything about his life. The only thing that I did know was that he had not let blindness get in the way of achieving his dreams. So when I sat down to watch Ray the other night, I was expecting it to be a wonderful experience. All the material would be new to me and I would learn something.

Jamie Foxx stars as Ray Robinson, a young blind man who travels all the way across the country from Florida to Seattle, Washington in order to perform gigs as a jazz and blues pianist. At first, people are wary of Ray because they don't think a blind man would be any good. But Ray is not only good, he is fantastic. In fact, he's one of the best musicians any of these people have ever seen, and word of his talents quickly spreads through the music industry.

Ray hooks up with a record producer who says the first thing they've got to do is change his name. After all, "Sugar" Ray Robinson, the boxer, had already made that name famous and there was no point in confusing people by giving them another Ray Robinson. So the producer suggested that Ray use his middle name instead, and thus Ray Charles was born.

The rest of the film basically gives the highlights (and some low points) of Ray Charles' illustrious musical career. He goes on to get signed by Atlantic Records and becomes a superstar after that. He gets married to a woman named Della Bea (played by Kerry Washington) who stays with him for a couple of decades despite his well-known womanizing and drug use. He picks up a heroin habit early on that nearly destroys his career and does eventually destroy his marriage. And he travels around the country (and around the world) performing for tens of thousands of adoring fans.

The thing that stood out most in Ray was Jamie Foxx's performance. Obviously, I knew to watch out for him because he won the Best Actor Oscar for his role, but I didn't know how powerful his acting really was. I had seen Foxx a few times before on the television show In Living Color, and had always thought of him as a comedian first and foremost. But in this movie, he gets to show off the full range of his acting talents, and he is absolutely superb as Ray Charles.

Another performance that I really enjoyed was the one turned in by Regina King. She played Margie Hendricks, one of Ray's backup singers who carries on an extended affair with him. I think King is a wonderful actress (she's been in Boyz n the Hood and Jerry Maguire among many, many other films) and never disappoints. She did an excellent job as "the other woman" in Ray, knowing that she could never be Mrs. Ray Charles and yet not quite being able to come to terms with that fact.

Unfortunately, those are about the only two things I enjoyed about this movie. I thought the film was overly long and contained far too many concert scenes. I know this was a biography of a musician, so you can't really get around the concert scenes. But people who watch biographical pictures do so in order to see what went on behind the scenes. That was the case for me with Ray. I didn't want to see so much of Ray Charles' public persona. I wanted to see what he did when the flashbulbs weren't popping and when the fans weren't screaming. If writer/director Taylor Hackford had cut out 25-30 minutes of the entire running time (nearly two hours and thirty minutes for the theatrical release) I think this could have been a much better overall experience.

I recommend the movie Ray just for the acting performances of Jamie Foxx and Regina King. Otherwise, the boring, repetitive concert scenes and the lack of real tension or drama are more likely to put you to sleep than entertain you.

This has been a favorite movie of mine for many years. It always leaves me feeling good about life, more than a little nostalgic, and with wet eyes. I always know what is going to happen, but it packs the same punch every year. I don't know why it never gets old and I don't know why it always hits a sentimental spot in me, but it never fails. I always set aside a Sunday afternoon in December to watch this beloved movie.

It's a Wonderful Life is a Frank Capra movie and it is from 1946. A young Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed play the Bailey's, George and Mary. Since this review is being written in 2006, the movie is enjoying its 60th year and the exceptional qualities, values, and morals of the movie continue to remind viewers how life should be. There is now a colorized version but I prefer the black and white.

Other cast members include Lionel Barrymore as a very cranky Mr. Potter, Thomas Mitchell as Uncle Billy, Beulah Bondi as George's mother, and Gloria Grahame as Violet. Did I leave out any major characters? Of course I did! George's endearing guardian angel who is trying real hard to earn his wings is named Clarence Oddbody and is played by Henry Travers.

To begin with, I always start with pitying George. His dream is to see the world. It almost happens for him and he even has a perfect suitcase to paste all of his travel stickers onto. He has plans to head into the big world and he almost makes it . . . but not quite. George's father dies at that time and he needs to save the family business; a savings and loan company. If George does not stay, the greedy banker, Mr. Potter will take over the rest of the town. That would be terrible for the residents so George stays.

George falls in love with a local girl, Mary, and they marry. They move into a run-down old house right there in their hometown of Bedford Falls. They have some money to go off for their honeymoon; the money George had saved for his travels. While they are trying to leave town for their honeymoon, there is a run on the banks and George and Mary end up using their honeymoon money to bail their customers out of financial ruin and to stop them from going to old Mr. Potter for loans.

George and Mary begin their family and it seems rather clear that George's dreams of traveling the world are forever put to rest. Years go by and Potter stays just as mean and greedy as he always was. After Uncle Billy loses a deposit for the savings and loan (but not really, Potter saw him misplace it and picked it up!) it appears that George is about to lose everything. He determines that he is worth more to his family dead than alive. George leaves his home and ends up at a bridge ready to end his own life.

Enter Clarence. Clarence needs to earn his wings, so he has to think fast. He jumps into the icy water himself and George ends up jumping to save Clarence instead of jumping to end his own life. Clarence is an "Angel 2nd Class" and he makes a plan so that he can get his wings by helping George to see just how special his life is. Clarence does this by taking George on a journey through time to see what everything would be like if he hadn't been born.

George is shown what the town would be like without his influence. There are scenes with his mother and Mary where they don't know him. Of course they don't, he was never born! He sees a tombstone for his brother, Harry, because George saved his life when they were kids. No George, thus no Harry was born. No Harry, no war hero who saved many lives in WWII, which actually happened to Harry.

Finally after being convinced that a world without George Bailey would not be a good thing, Clarence allows George to come back to the present and there is a scene with George running through the snow to his "old drafty house" where Mary gathered all the townspeople to help George. They were all giving financial donations and even Harry rushed home to help his big brother.

At the very end when my face is already very wet, a bell tinkles on the tree and George's daughter mentions that it means an angel just got wings. Of course everyone watching knows that it was Clarence.

It's a Wonderful Life is truly a magical movie. It is a holiday classic and will most likely always remain the same. Stewart and Reed are brilliant in their roles and I highly recommend buying a CD or DVD of this movie instead of trying to catch it on television. Although it's often played during the holiday season, it's just one of those things you want for a home library.

By Brandi M. Seals

Last night I taped Lost and Jericho for my husband who was busy at work. I decided rather than be subjected to watching the shows twice; I should find something better to do with my time. So as I flipped through the channels I came across Just Like Heaven on HBO.

I had wanted to see the movie when it came out but decided it probably was not worth going to the movies for, I would rent it eventually. Well, for all of you out there that are curious - I liked it. I was as cheesy as you could imagine but overall it was a good movie.

Just Like Heaven stars Reece Witherspoon, Jon Heder and Mark Ruffalo. It tells the story of an overworked doctor, Elizabeth (Witherspoon), who never takes any time for herself. Elizabeth has just been promoted as an attending when she gets into a horrible accident. She was heading over to her sister's house for a blind date, when she gets hit head on by a truck.

The movie then switches gears and we meet David (Ruffalo). David is in search of a new place. He looks at several apartments before coming upon one that he has to have - Elizabeth's apartment.

David seems like a slacker. He does not appear to have a job and spends his time drinking beer. One night when he is drinking, he sees Elizabeth in the apartment. She thinks he is a mentally unstable person who is convinced he lives in her house. He comes to think that she is a ghost.

David does everything he can to get rid of his unwelcome ghost. He reads books, hires a priest to do an exorcism. There is a long list of people that come in to cleanse the house of Elizabeth's spirit but nothing works. Then he brings over Darryl (Heder). Darryl works at the bookstore where David bought books on the supernatural and he seems to have a knack for feeling the presence of spirits.

When Darryl comes over to the apartment to inspect, he tells David that he is wrong. The spirit with him is too strong to be dead. David and Elizabeth do not really know what that means or know how to find out more about her but slowly they come across clues that lead them to Elizabeth's body. She has been in a coma for 3 months, ever since the car accident.

I will not spoil the ending of this film for you, but needless to say there will be some sap to it. And you will find yourself saying "yeah right" on occasion. Ladies, if you have yourself a macho man who despises "chick flicks," you will want to watch this one solo because your man will never shut up about having to sit through this one. It would be almost as bad as watching The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants together.

All in all, I like the film. I think Jon Heder was excellent. I have a hard time watching him in anything since Napolean Dynamite (if you ever want to torture someone, make them sit through this awful movie) but he did great in Just Like Heaven.

Reese Witherspoon was once again a cute and loveable character. She seems most comfortable staying in that kind of role. I have loved her ever since she made The Man in the Moon in 1991.

Mark Ruffalo on the other hand is hard to watch. He has this vacant stare that reminds me of stoners from high school. He also never quit shuts his mouth. I guess he leaves it opened to catch flies. I find it hard to see him as a romantic match for any woman, let alone Reese Witherspoon's character. I hate to say it, but Ruffalo is unattractive. I know it is biased and unfair but no one really wants to see unattractive people falling in love.

I think viewers could have gotten passed the fact that Ruffalo is not much of a looker, but when coupled with the stare and opened mouth stance, he is nearly intolerable. I hope this is not a reflection of Ruffalo's acting abilities. I am holding out hope that some poor misguided director told him to do it.

Another incredible piece of work by Ben Stiller...he not only directs but STARS in this one as well. The plot: At the end of his career, a clueless fashion model is brainwashed to kill the Prime Minister of Malaysia. Reading that, there's no way in hell I'd rent this one. So, do let me enlighten you with further details about this cinematic masterpiece...by the time I'm through, you'll be reaching for your car keys and heading to Blockbuster.

By this point in time, we're all well aware that not ALL models are stupid, but we're also aware that they DO have a reputation of getting by on their looks throughout their lives and because of that, the potential exists for them to be somewhat...lacking...in intelligence because they've never been forced to develop any skills. That being said, let's begin at the VH1-Vogue Fashion Awards. Derek Zoolander (Ben Stiller) has won Best Male Model for a few years running and is contention yet again. He's famous for his 'looks'...Blue Steel, El Tigre, and his top secret 'look' in progress, Magnum. Up against him in the Best Male Model category is young, up and coming model Hansel (Owen Wilson)...the new kid on the block with a freewheeling style (and Razor scooter to match) that threatens to usurp Derek's throne. When the winner is announced, Derek automatically leaves his seat and dashes up onstage to accept the award...when the audience greets him with derisive laughter, he casts a glance behind him at the giant wall projection screen to see that he is NOT the winner...Hansel is.

Derek flees the scene, horrified and questioning whether there is more to life than being 'really, really ridiculously good looking'. He's interviewed by Matilda Jeffries (Christine Taylor, and Ben's real life spouse) for a Time magazine article, which he thinks will be good for his career and all about being a ridiculously good looking male model. When he journeys out the next day with his model roomates, Todd (Nathan Lee Graham), Brint (Alexandre Manning) and Rufus (Asio Highsmith) they stop for gas...and a water fight turns into a gasoline fight while Wham's Wake Me Up Before You GoGo plays in the background. Derek spots a man in the distance reading the issue of Time with him on the cover...and he's spared from the firey explosion caused by Rufus lighting his cigarette only because he pulls the magazine from the trash to read the headline "Derek Zoolander...A Model Idiot?".

Jerry Stiller (Ben's father) plays his agent, Maury Ballstein, owner of Balls Models. He's working with Mugatu (Will Farell...and his performance alone is worth seeing this one!), a fashion designer, plotting to have a model kill the prime minister of Malaysia because he's ending child labor in his country and increasing manufacturing costs for all the design houses. Derek is their first choice, as he's older and pretty darn close to being a washed-up has been. After losing his friends, Derek tells Maury he's quitting the business and going home to work with his father (Jon Voight) and his brothers (Vince Vaughn is one) in the coal mines.

Of course, that lasts all of a day and Derek heads home...and is promptly dragged to an assassin training camp disguised as a day spa by Mugatu's henchwoman, Katinka (Milla Jovovich). Mugatu has always denied Derek the opportunity to work with him, and convinces him to come back to the business by chosing him to head his Derelicte campaign and the spa is part of his 'preparation'.

Matilda has also been researching Mugatu and is attempting to interview him about his reluctance to support child labor laws...and discovers that something fishy is going on. David Duchovny stars as JP Pruitt, world's greatest hand model and conspiracy theorist...Matilda convinces Derek he is in danger and together they meet JP, who reveals that all assassinations throughout history have been related to the fashion underworld and carried out by male models past their prime. Derek is forced to make nice with Hansel, and they strategize as a group how to stop Derek from killing the Prime Minister at Mugatu's Derelicte show (of which Derek is the top model).

Okay, that sounds ridiculous...but good lord, it's HILARIOUS. Some favorite scenes include the model Walk Off between Derek and Hansel (who pulls his undies out of his ass to win), the dirt room scene and ensuing orgy with Matilda...and much more. This one was also panned by some critics, and I think some folks just don't 'get' the humor. I'm sure you're not one of them...hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

If I were to pick five of my top favorite historical movies, I think the hit saga Titanic, which made its debut in 1997, would come in close to the top. Since the first time I ever watched it (during the big craze when everyone was saying how terrific it was and I wanted to find out for myself) I found myself close to tears and amazed at the huge tragedy that occurred in 1912. Hollywood made some adaptations, of course, but the gist was the same - thousands of innocent people struggling to hold on through unspeakable fear and grief, only to be swallowed in the unforgiving sea after an iceberg permanently silenced the R.M.S. Titanic.

For most people, the main attraction is the actors; Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet play Jack and Rose, two young lovers who are unable to see each other due to their differences in social standing; customs of the time dictated that there were two groups, the wealthy (aka: "the important") and the poor (who weren't given much of a chance during the disaster). Jack, a drifter, is sweet and likeable, saving Rose from a terrible self-proclaimed fate. They instantly fall for each other, and she tries to forget the loveless marriage her mother is pushing in her direction. Her abusive fiance, however, isn't about to give her up to a street-rat like Jack. As the movie progresses, they decide that anything is better than being apart, and defy odds to stay together and keep their wits. Cal Hockley, Rose's intended, simmers until he actually bursts out with gunfire.

Some other faces that grace the screen of Titanic include Bernard Hill as Captain Smith (Edward, not John), Jonathan Hyde as Bruce Izmay, and Kathy Bates as the famous "unsinkable Molly Brown." Although the acting *was* superb, I preferred the storylines much better. There are some parts of the movie that aren't appropriate for young watchers, so you might want to skip ahead.

Some of my particular favorite parts are when Jack took Rose down to the "poor" deck of Titanic; the people may be staying in less-than-perfect conditions, but their hearts are much lighter than the rich people with their many problems. Jack's Irish friends treat him and Rose to some spirited dances that are just fun to watch. Another favorite part is toward the end, when water begins spilling through the hallways of the Titanic and Rose tries desperately to find Jack and help anyone who is trapped behind the iron bars of the lower levels. The level of adrenaline is intense and it will bring terror and tears alike if you're anything like me.

I usually don't get overly emotional at movies, but watching entire families torn apart, some washed away and never seen again, always has me bawling by the time it's over. I think the most gripping part of Titanic is that it was *real.* It doesn't matter how dolled-up the costumes or sets may be - this really happened, and people died just like this. It's sobering to contemplate. Jack and Rose may not be real people, but there were hundreds of people like them aboard the real Titanic, which sank in mid-April 1912. I often wonder if any of my relatives were aboard ship or if they knew anyone who was. How scary to think how close some of them may have been to going aboard and never coming home again.

I finally understood what the fuss about the Titanic movie was; I was hooked, and for awhile I watched it over and over again until I ran out of tissues! The movie gave me more than an emotional roller-coaster, however; it gave me a bonafide interest in the real Titanic that continues to this day. Over the years I've gone to museums, looked up websites, and studied almost everything there is to know about this great luxury ship. I even had my own Titanic model, until it, like the original, met an untimely and unfortunate fate. It is one of those moments in history that interest and amaze me the most. I think I will continue to be fascinated by the Titanic, even if the draw is not so strong. For once, Hollywood was fairly historically correct, and I'm grateful that this movie gets the recognition it deserves.

By Lacie R. Schaeffer

By Simon Woodhouse

Movies cost a lot of money to make, which I suppose is why Hollywood seems to take very few risks. Tried and tested formulas, that's what film studios like - generic plots/characters recycled every few years and pepped up with a few new special effects. I can't imagine many studios would be wild about the idea of a political satire that uses Thunderbirds style puppets, and addresses a real hot potato issue like Middle Eastern terrorism. I guess Team America managed to see the light of day thanks in no small part to the previous work of its creators. This is a movie by Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the guys behind South Park.

Anyone familiar with the TV show, or the movie it spawned, will be aware that Stone and Parker aren't afraid to tackle sensitive issues. So if you're the sort of person who thinks international terrorism isn't a laughing matter, this film probably won't appeal to you. On the other hand, if you can see the ridiculousness of the extremists on both sides of the 'war on terror', this movie will make you laugh - a lot.

Team America World Police are a secret, Thunderbirds style organization, who rather than trying to save people spend their time kicking terrorist butt. Their favorite colors are red, white and blue, their favorite music is generic rock, and their favorite pastime is shooting big guns and blowing stuff up. They're not interested in detective work, or debating the rights and wrongs of a situation. You show them a Middle Eastern gentleman dressed like a tribal hills man, and they'll kill him.

The movie starts with the team thwarting a terrorist attack in Paris. Visual gags abound here, especially when a member of the team and a terrorist square up for a bit of hand to hand combat, but just flail around like the uncontrollable puppets they are. The team wipe out the bad guys, but in the process do far more damage than the terrorists ever would have (and this becomes a running joke that pops up again and again throughout the film). However, a key member of their organization dies, so they need to enlist a replacement. Enter Gary the actor.

Recruited specifically because he is an actor, Gary's first mission involves him infiltrating a terrorist cell in Egypt. Things go slightly wrong, but Team America save the day by blowing up loads of stuff. Just prior to this, we meet the film's main bad guy, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il. Definitely the movie's funniest character, Kim both looks and sounds a lot like Cartman from South Park. Portrayed as an insane, James Bond style villain with a terrible Korean/English ascent, he's funny enough just to look at, let alone here him speak. After watching this film you'll never be able to take the real Kim seriously again, or feel threatened by him. And I'd be interested to know whether the movie ever made it into North Korean cinema's (somehow I doubt it)

As the story moves on, we learn that Kim is the mastermind behind a worldwide terrorist plot. The scheme involves weapons of mass destruction (of course), a thing that Team America are absolutely paranoid about. Gary also becomes romantically involved with Lisa, another member of the team. This leads to one of the film's funniest scenes - gratuitous puppet sex involving naked marionettes who have no genitals whatsoever.

Though the movie relies heavily on visual jokes, the dialogue is funny as well. The filmmakers cleverly lampoon both sides of the political divide, obviously mocking the whole idea of over zealous patriotism and an unwarranted fear of foreigners, but at the same time singling out anti-war liberals for an equal bashing. The United Nations also comes in for a fair bit of ridicule, culminating in Kim Jong-Il's dispatch of weapons inspector Hans Blix (pronounced 'Brix' by Kim).

In a film as silly as this, the finale was always going to be daft. Team America end up being captured by Kim, who is using liberal American celebrities to distract the world's attention while he executes his evil plan. Gary arrives and saves the day, at the same time delivering a speech full of really funny analogies.

There's a fair amount of gross-out comedy, especially in the scene where Gary is vomiting. But the overall premise, and the larger-than-life ridicule of what is essentially a very serious subject, gives the movie a clever edge. Just like South Park, there are weighty issues wrapped-up in toilet humor. If you're a fan of the show, you'll recognize most of the puppets' voices, as the majority of them were performed by Stone and Parker. In another similarity to South Park, Team America contains quite a few musical numbers. Most of these are funny, but one of them is hysterical, however its title contains the F word so I can't tell you what it's called, but you'll know the one I mean when you watch the film. After which you'll be singing the song all day, if only in your head. Though this is a film containing puppets, it's definitely not for kids. But if you're a level-headed adult, it will at the very least make you chuckle.

Movies about teenagers have always been difficult for me to evaluate because I'm pretty far removed from the intended audience. The topics and issues that these teen-centered films focus on are usually not relevant to me anymore, and yet the messages might extremely important to the younger crowd. It's even more difficult for me to evaluate a teen movie that I saw when I fit the intended demographic yet have watched again as an adult as well. This is the case with the 1989 Peter Weir film Dead Poets Society.

Dead Poets Society is set on the campus of a prestigious, private all-boys boarding school. The school is known for the strict discipline enforced by teachers and for the rigorous honor code upheld by students. The boys are expected to do what they are told and not to question authority.

All of that changes with the arrival of Mr. Keating, played by Robin Williams. Keating, himself a former graduate of the school, is a free spirit and has unconventional ways of teaching English. These include having the boys stand on their desks to get a different view of their surroundings, telling them to rip out pages from their text book, conducting classes outside in the courtyard, and above all else encouraging the boys to "seize the day."

Keating's methods raise eyebrows among the school administrators, but they don't have anyone to replace Keating, so they let him do his thing (for the most part). Keating gets through to several of the boys, including Neil (Robert Sean Leonard), Todd (Ethan Hawke), Charlie (Gale Hansen), Knox (Josh Charles), and Cameron (Dylan Kussman). Keating inspires them to revive the Dead Poets Society, a secret club that meets in a cave after curfew in order to recite poetry.

Neil is particularly motivated by Keating's encouragement to seize the day, and he decides to follow his dream of being an actor by trying out for the community's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. He is so good that he wins the lead role and seems truly happy and excited for once. But his father has other plans. He wants Neil to be a doctor, and that means Neil must study and work on the yearbook staff. No other activities are allowed. Neil's father demands that he quit the play and Neil grudgingly agrees to do so.

Then tragedy strikes (I won't reveal what happens), and the rest of the film deals with the aftermath of the sudden blow.

I distinctly remember loving this movie when I was in high school. I wished that I had a teacher like Mr. Keating and vowed that I would always follow my dreams no matter what my parents or anyone else said. I thought the film was powerful and moving, especially the final scene involving the Todd Anderson character. It felt like a very strong movie from beginning to end.

But after a recent viewing as an adult, I'm having trouble recognizing all the "merits" that I thought I saw in this film as a teenager. First of all, there were some minor plots (for example, the romance betweeen Knox and the rich girl) that probably shouldn't have even been there at all. In fact, I thought the whole Dead Poets Society subplot was unnecessary and existed merely to give the film an interesting title. Second, seeing the film through my adult eyes, I felt that the plot was extremely cliched and contrived. I saw that there really wasn't much substance at all to the Keating character and I discovered just how many things about the movie didn't make sense. Plus, I felt that the last scene was highly manipulative and not the touching moment that I had always thought it was before. In other words, I think Dead Poets Society is an average movie at best for adults. Whether today's teenagers would find it inspiring or simply dated is something that I can't answer.

Overall, I would not recommend watching Dead Poets Society. It's not entertaining, it's not exactly a family movie, and it's not something that adults would find inspiring. There aren't even any strong acting performances to redeem the film (though Ethan Hawke as Todd does come close). Just save your money and rent something else!

By Simon Woodhouse

Summer blockbusters, popcorn movies meant to do nothing more than entertain, sometimes get a raw deal from critics just because they are what they are. But films full of beautiful people, big budget special effects and little in the way of a plot, aren't necessarily a bad thing. The Island falls smack-bang into this category. It also borrows heavily from well-loved predecessors (more about that later), another attribute that seems to annoy people, but isn't imitation the sincerest form of flattery?

Beautiful person number one in The Island is Lincoln Six-Echo (Ewan McGregor). He's an inhabitant of a futuristic community sealed off from the outside world. Which is just as well, because in this version of the near future, the Earth has been rendered virtually uninhabitable thanks to mankind's systematic abuses. Life within Lincoln's world is pretty boring. Everyday is governed by a routine that he can neither change or influence. He's told what he can eat, what he can wear and what job he can do. However, there are two bright spots in his life. He's friends with beautiful person number two, Jordan Two-Delta (Scarlett Johansson), and he's also entered into a weekly lottery to win a place on The Island. Though the Earth is pretty much ruined, there is one little spec of paradise left outside Lincoln's sealed world, and this is The Island. But it's a fragile place, so not everyone can go there, hence the lottery.

Despite the promise of the lottery, and his friendship with Jordan, Lincoln's not happy. He's sure there's something more to life, but he doesn't know what. Inquisitive by nature, he's managed to sneak into the grimy maintenance area of the facility, and make friends with Mac (Steve Busscemi - a non beautiful person). Mac lives in a different sector to Lincoln, and seems to know a lot about life before the Earth became contaminated. Whilst talking to Mac one day, Lincoln finds a moth. Now to you and me this wouldn't be anything special, but Lincoln's never seen anything like it before. The world in which he lives is so sterile and clinical, there are no bugs, and no other forms of life except the people around him.

Though the sealed colony living on a contaminated Earth isn't anything new in sci-fi/action movies (Logan's Run first did it thirty years ago), The Island does give it a slight twist. But the twist itself is nothing new either. In fact, it's difficult to see anything original in this movie. It's borrowed bits and pieces from a whole host of other films, most notably The Matrix, Coma and the aforementioned Logan's Run. And the visual look is a copy of other recent movies such as Minority Report and I Robot. But unlike most of these others, it doesn't take itself too seriously and that helps it get by.

The thoughts that are troubling Lincoln become a whole lot worse when Jordan wins the lottery. She's going to The Island and he isn't. Though physical contact is forbidden in the facility, and the law is rigorously enforced by humorless heavies, Lincoln's going to miss her - a lot. It's also around about this time he discovers the facilities big secret, which in turn leads him to realize there's a world outside. So rather than lose Jordan, he takes her with him and they escape.

The film shifts into a different gear here, as we learn that Lincoln and Jordan both have the mental age of teenagers. This makes everything they find outside the facility fascinating as well as scary. Aided by Mac, who they just happen to bump into, they learn more about what's really happening in the place they used to call home. This information is delivered in a chunk of dialogue that seems lifted wholesale from a scene in Blade Runner. Meanwhile back at the facility, chief bad guy Merrick (Sean Bean) is a bit upset that two of his charges have escaped. He hires another bad guy, Laurent (Djimon Hounsou), to bring them back.

Using the information they learn from Mac, Lincoln and Jordan set off in search of someone who can help them. The action starts to become slightly cyclical now, with a series of set pieces that involve Laurent trying to trap our heroes, but failing each time as they manage to escape in more and more fantastic ways. This does however, provide the film with its most memorable sequence - the hover bike chase.

As always happens in summer blockbusters, the grand finale involves the good guy facing off against the bad guy. In the case of The Island, Lincoln returns to the facility where he inevitably ends up slugging it out with Merrick. This rather predictable ending is in keeping with the rest of the movie's unadventurous plot. But because the two leading players have a real on-screen chemistry, when they end up in each other's arms it does leave you with a nice warm glow.

Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson are what make this film. They're beautiful people, and therefore very easy on the eye. They're decent actors too, so what could have been a real turkey had lesser mortals been involved, is actually quite watch-able. Steve Busscemi (always good) and Sean Bean do their best to flesh out what are quite frankly two-dimensional characters. The plot, the dialogue and the whole look of the film, may borrow heavily from better sources, but that doesn't stop it from being decent enough in its own right. Which means it's not the best summer blockbuster you'll ever see, but it's certainly not the worst either.

One has to truly wonder how it is possible for a loving mom and housewife to play a mother like Sarah Pierce, the lead character in Todd Field's new movie, Little Children.

Kate Winslet insists that the fact the she is happy in her role as a parent and content with her life was critical for her to be able to play the movie mom and lead character that is trapped by the suburban life of motherhood. The four time Academy Award nominated British actress puts forth one of her strongest film performances in her role as the wife of a man who is addicted to online pornography and as the mom of a four year old that seemingly does nothing more than get in the way of her mother living out her life.

The 31-year-old actress, best known for her critically acclaimed roles in Titanic, Iris, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, demonstrates why she is one of Hollywood's leading stars. Her ability to play a character that is the antithesis of what she is in real life demonstrates why Winslet is an actress that can sell a film all by herself.

However, recent interviews have the beautiful actress acknowledging that she could not have played the part of Sarah Pierce had she not experienced that emotional rollercoaster of parenthood first hand. Having lived that role, Winslet states that it allowed her to fully understand her screen character, something she would not have been able to do had she not had the chance to live the role in real life.

Winslet's performance in Little Children should help put a couple of failed efforts behind her. Winslet was panned for her roles in both The Life of David Gale and the recent All the King's Men. Those movies pale next to her efforts and Oscar nominations for Iris and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Patrick Wilson and Jennifer Connelly also star in the film, playing Brad and Kathy Adamson while Gregg Edelman plays Winslet's porn addicted husband Richard Pierce. Sadie Goldstein handles the role of four-year-old Lucy Pierce like another star in the making.

Little Children has explicit sex scenes and has received an R-rating.

You do it, I do it...anyone who wants any type of service in their home, apartment or office does it. We let complete, total strangers enter our domain so we can watch what we want on TV or talk on the phone or surf the internet. How in the hell do we know that we can TRUST these people? Wouldn't they have to be a little odd from the get go in order to do this sort of job, spending every day entering the home of another stranger? The Cable Guy, brilliantly directed by Ben Stiller, addresses these very questions and more in this VERY black comedy from 1996.

Matthew Broderick is Steven Kovacs, a fellow who has just parted ways with longtime live-in girlfriend Robin Harris (Leslie Mann). He's forced to move out and find his own place, and when it comes time to get his cable connected, The Cable Guy (Jim Carrey) makes his initial appearance. Though we don't know it yet, he's lonely and in search of a buddy...and essentially raised by television while his single mother was out with an endless parade of men. He tells Steven his name is Chip Douglas, but since Steven isn't really paying attention to much of anything since his breakup with Robin he doesn't comment on the My Three Sons connection. Chip is a common enough name, as is Douglas. Sure.

Chip offers Steven an illegal cable hookup for fifty bucks, and, like most of us would (well, me anyway), he jumps at the deal. After treating Chip with more kindness than most, Steven quickly becomes the object of his intensely friendly affections...a follow up call to ensure that the cable is working fine turns into a request for a get together...and suddenly Chip has wormed his way into Steven's life as the annoying, overzealous best bud we've all dealt with at some time or another.

When Steven receives message after message on his answering machine, it occurs to him that perhaps Chip may be a little odd...and then Chip 'lets himself in' to Steven's apartment and surprises him with a room full of state of the art electronics, a big screen TV and a thumping stereo system that would make any neighbor call the cops. He throws Steven a party to help him forget about Robin and move on with his life...complete with one of the best Karaoke scenes ever filmed. Chip gets his grove on to Jefferson Airplane's White Rabbit...good lord, it may be one of the funniest things I've ever borne witness to. Seriously. Steven hooks up with a lovely girl at the shindig, and it looks as though he may be ready for someone new...until Chip and Steven sit down to breakfast the next day. When Steven tells Chip how much he enjoyed the gal, Chip tosses back that 'this time it's on me'...turns out Steven's new love interest is a hooker. And a hooker that Chip has bought for himself before, to test out. EEEEEEKKKKKKKK!

This puts Steven over the top and he tries to break off things with Chip...and of course, it's just not that easy and Chip turns into a complete Psycho Stalker and tries to ruin his life.

Steven's friend Rick (Jack Black...how can you go wrong there?) does some researching and discovers that no one by the name of Chip Douglas works for the cable company, and makes the connection between Chip's aliases and TV characters and we gain insight into his lonely past.

This particular film was panned by critics and disliked by many a Jim Carrey fan...it's my opinion that they all were expecting another Ace Ventura and the typical Jim fare. Instead, they caught a glimpse of Jim Carrey...Genuine Actor and didn't much care for it. He brings Chip to life with so many nuances that he stops being Jim and is completely in character, though his look isn't much changed. There's a dark, creepy, misery brought to the role via his talents...and he also makes us take pity on the character. The clincher is the lisp...hilarious and awkward all at once, it starts making you cringe with sympathy midway through.

Ben Stiller also appears in a subplot, as twin child actors Sam and Stan Sweet, one on trial for murdering the other. I think Stiller is a genius, and this film is a testament to his ability to not only act but direct as well. See for yourself...add this to your list!

Review by Garnet Brooks

This second film in the X-Men series has the old cast of characters back plus a new one named Nightcrawler. He is a teleporter. Nightcrawler was rescued by a woman who worked in a circus. He became the main attraction there. Nightcrawler is deeply religious and extremely guilty. He tattoos his body every time he feels guilt. There is a section on the extras disc that explains Nightcrawler's past history and what he has been doing just prior to the beginning of the film.

Magneto is still in his Plexiglas prison. Xavier visits from time to time. Now the fight is not so much between Magneto's forces and Xavier's but mutants against a shadowy government figure names Striker. In the opening and very dramatic scene Nightcrawler invades the president's office. Because of this, Striker gets the go-ahead from the President to raid Xavier's headquarters. Despite considerable firepower they are able to take only six mutant children prisoner. The others disperse. Storm and Jean are in Boston at the time capturing Nightcrawler.

Striker is not what he seems. He has the President's trust but for years he has run secret experiments on mutants. His own son is one, a former pupil of Xavier's. Striker experiments on his own son like a lab rat and produces the serum which controls Nightcrawler's behavior. It is really Striker who forces Nightcrawler to attack. Nightcrawler proves to be quite gentle. The drug that is used to control Nightcrawler is used to control the behavior of other mutants also including a woman who like Wolverine has a metal graft on her skeleton. In a dramatic battle Wolverine kills her. In the course of time he has learned more of his past history and finds that it is Striker who performed the terrible medical experiments. Wolverine is strangely drawn to Striker and must break free from the man's hold on him.

Mystique arranges to free Magneto from prison. This results in one of the nicely done special effects sequences. Magneto finds out about Striker's plan to kill all the mutants and redirects it trying to kill all the humans. Doing this involves an elaborate deception. Striker's son must convince Xavier that he is an innocent little girl. Xavier has been captured and given a set of cerebral dampeners which make his mind control abilities dormant. While the struggle for Xavier's mind goes on the other mutants are regrouping and making plans to stop the chaos. The final scenes of the film invisible an unexpected sacrifice on the part of a mutant.

Each of the mutants in the first film gets more individual time. We see the development of the relationship between Rogue and Bobby. Pyro changes sides and goes with Magneto in the end. Wolverine and Scott struggle for Jean's attentions.

This is a blockbuster with a large budget. It has more elaborate sets and stunts than the first film. Things blow up and turn to ice. The final scene is set in a place called Alkali Lake. When we see it first it is a frozen wasteland and Wolverine is searching it for clues to his past. He finds nothing above ground but later it proves to be Striker's base of operations. His stronghold is deep underground adjacent to a dam. When the dam breaks the underground chambers are flooded. The flood is perhaps the biggest of several big special effects.

The two disc DVD set has a number of extras. A Stan Lee interview is included. There is a documentary, two audio commentary selections, and a selection of deleted scenes. Special effects featurettes and still galleries are available on the second disc. This is the sort of film that a lot of people are going to like. It is a blockbuster science fiction film based on beloved comic book characters. It is a fast paced action film but within it are complex issues about alienation and about good and evil. Like the X-Men film there is a struggle to register, imprison or just plain kill the people who are different. One of the background things not explicated in this film is the history Magneto had as a child in Nazi Germany watching his parents taken away to the crematorium. There are two camps both of which fear the other. The difference is outlined visually in a scene where Xavier sees the two groups. The humans are outlined in white and the mutants in red. In the background also is Senator Kelly now actually dead and replaced by a mutant. Ultimately it is the President who has to decide if he will further polarize the two camps or find a way to head off a disastrous confrontation.

When I saw a preview for a movie in the movie theater a couple of months ago starring Billy Bob Thornton, and that Napoleon Dynamite guy, I knew I had to see that movie. I am going to be completely honest; I did not care what the movie was going to be about, or even what it was called. All I really cared was that there was a movie with a total bad ass, Billy Bob Thornton, and a total dimwit, Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite).

School for Scoundrels is actually one of the best 'dumb comedy' films I have seen in quite some time. It stars Jon Heder as a New York City meter maid who suffers anxiety attacks, gets picked on by just about everyone, and is well a complete total loser.

In the beginning of the movie, Heder's character Roger is thrown throw a series of events, such as getting robbed in his meter maid mobile, losing his 'little brother' in the 'Big Brother' program because he wasn't cool enough, etc, that just causes the poor man to break down and cry. His friend Ian comes to Roger's rescue by giving him a phone number, and promises that the phone number will lead Roger to a self help class that will help turn Roger's life away.

Roger of course goes home, and soon finds himself on the phone with a mysterious person (Billy Bob Thornton). The man on the phone tells Roger to get five thousand dollars in a white envelope and meet him at a specific location. This is really where the movie starts to pick up.

The next hour or so is filled with events of Roger joining Dr. P's (Billy Bob Thornton) exclusive self help class. While Roger initially is scared of Dr. P, as the movie progresses, Roger goes from being a complete loser to a person capable of challenging Dr. P; something that Dr. P of course does not like.

School for Scoundrels is of course a comedy, but it also has the whole romance story thrown in to it for good measure. The main reason for Roger to take the self help class is not really to help him, but rather just so he could have a chance with his neighbor, Amanda. Dr. P knows this, and of course when Roger tries to excel to the top of the class, Dr. P immediately tries to attack Roger by going for Amanda.

As I mentioned earlier, this movie flows nicely. To me, there were not any dull parts, as every part of this movie flowed together, and was quite funny. The scenes where Dr. P (Billy Bob Thornton) and Roger (Jon Heder) were competing against each other were completely priceless, and as mentioned earlier, the sole reason I decided to go see this movie in the movie theater.

While Jon Heder's character Roger, is of course the main character, Billy Bob Thornton really steals the show by delivering his usual "Here I am to steal the show" attitude. Thornton takes every role seriously, and it is evident in this movie, that despite being a comedy, Thornton continues to be a bad ass until the end of the movie.

So who was this movie made for? That's a tough question. It seems that Jon Heder's staple is for movies in which he stars as a low self esteem, anxiety riddled man, while Billy Bob Thornton's staple is of course being a bad ass. Fans of either actor will no doubt love this movie, but what does the movie have to offer people that don't necessarily like either of these actors? Well, even though it's a comedy, it still has a very nice, well developed plot. It's a excellent movie for dating teenagers looking for a funny movie for the guys, and a romance movie for the girls. In the end, the movie really appeals to a large audience. If however, you are like some people, who simply can not stand that "Napoleon Dynamite kid" than this movie, just like all of Jon Heder's other movies simply is not for you. If you are still debating on whether or not to go see School for Scoundrels in the movie theater, you could just wait a month or so and rent it at your local video store.

Three cheers to Lionsgate Films for releasing several new animated DVD releases based on some of the more popular Marvel Comic Books on the market. If you are wondering why the word "Ultimate" appears in front of the name of The Avengers, the reason is that this DVD is based on the revamping of the classic Avengers in the Ultimate line of books.

The "Ultimate" series of books were originally conceived as a way of recapturing a younger audience through remaking all the top Marvel Superhero tales (X-Men, Spider-Man) and bringing their origins and first adventures into the modern era. So, instead of presenting a rehash of the 1962 origin of Spider-Man, we get to see a total revamping of the character and the character's history for modern audiences.
While the original plan was to slant the Ultimate line of books towards younger viewers, some of the stories eventually leaned towards a more mature audience as was the case with THE ULTIMATES, the flagship title that re-wrote the early tales of the Avengers.When Lionsgate Films opted to make animated dvds about featuring Marvel Heroes, they interestingly chose to adapt the Ultimates line.

Ultimate Avengers is the first release and it is a significant disappointment. The main reason this DVD flops so miserable is that it runs a scant 75 minutes.

Considering the vast number of heroes that need to be introduced combined with the additional time required to be spent on the character of Captain America, there is very little time left for any significant plot. When the plot actually does kick in, it is decidely removed from the more mature aspects that the character development was previously centered around. A dopey robotic aliens from outer space attack is incredibly dumb and belongs in someone else's movie as opposed to being in the storlyline that was conceived for this film.

As for the characters, they are interesting presented as Captain America appears virtually untouched from the books as a man from a previous era who finds himself out of place in a society that to him is a future where he does not belong. The Hulk is here and the themes of Betty and Bruce's failed love affair leading to Banner's drive to cure himself of being the Hulk is touched upon briefly, but it is not explored in a manner that would be considered having any depth. (Betty is also REALLY toned down from the emasculating wench that appears in the books) Thor is presented as a hippie with superpowers who believes he is a Norse God, but his appearance is too brief to garner any interest. (In the books he is greatly expanded upon and is quite interesting)

So, essentially you have a movie called THE ULTIMATE AVENGERS and the Avengers simply do not get any adequate screen time to appear as more than anything other than cardboard cut out cliches. As such, the whole purpose of the thematic concerns found in the book is virtually ignored. This is an unpardonable crime! Marvel's heroes are rich in their depth and that depth is what allows their adventures to gain a heightened sense of drama and emotional involvement. All of these concepts are ignored in this film and the quality of the film suffers dramatically because of it.

Again, this just beats the point that this DVD's running time is a major reason for the lack of character development and is a major contributing factor to the negative reviews this movie has received. Perhaps the main problem is the fact that it is a "movie" when it should have been an episodic TV program. Then again, it could have also been a series of interrelated movies that connect all the subplots together. Actually, that may even be the current plan, but if the subplots are introduced in a manner that is so poorly constructed the whole concept becomes self defeating. This is a shame considering the great material the producers and writers had to work with. What they have delivered is pretty underwhelming and it is hard to understand how they could have dropped the ball so badly.

Lionsgate will be producing and releasing further Marvel Superhero adaptations and hopefully they will learn from the errors that they have set forth and hopefully will revamp their concept of how these movies should look. 75 minutes appears reflective that the company has decided to simply dump a DVD on the market with little effort and then reap in the financial windfall that the Superhero Movie fad has started

Documentaries have finally come of age. Such films have been around since the silent era and some of those silent era documentaries are still quite entertaining today. NANOOK OF THE NORTH is still enjoyably riveting even after eight decades as are thousands of classic documentaries of the past such as TUESDAY'S CHILDREN and SALESMAN. However, it has only been in the last ten years that documentaries have proven to draw solid box office in theaters. The reason that they make money these days is that documentaries have finally demonstrated that they can inform, entertain and even make people laugh. This devastated the stereotypes that existed in the past that pigeonholed documentaries with unfair stigmas as being boring. Because of such renewed (or, possibly, first time) interest in documentaries these days, many of the classic documentaries of the past have emerged on DVD to find new audiences.

The 1976 Academy Award winning documentary HARLAN COUNTY, USA is one such documentary film that made a huge stir when released, then faded off into obscurity until being recently revived and re-released by the good folks over at Criterion Collection.

HARLAN COUNTY, USA covers the lengthy 1973-1975 strike of the United Mine Workers of America in Kentucky and their clashes with the anti-union power companies that sought to crush attempts at the mine workers desire for collective bargaining.

In today's world, unions have become associated with greed, corruption, impediments to capitalism and the free market. To a degree, this is not inaccurate if the union leadership has opted to seek putting its own benefit ahead of the general body which is a common problem when greed and power start to cloud the judgment of those who have seemingly lost (or decided to ignore) the focus of their fiduciary duty.

When watching HARLAN COUNTY, USA and viewing the images of people living in shacks with no running water or electricity because the mining company deems such things as "luxuries" when providing living arrangements for workers, it becomes incredibly difficult not to sympathize with the mine workers looking to improve their lot in life. They aren't asking for extravagances. They are asking for a livable wage and working conditions. Furthermore, when the documentary takes a look back at the strikes of the 1930's and the abominable condition children would have to deal with when working in the mine 18 hours a day, a cold shiver will run up and down the viewer's spine. Yes, one of the main reasons there is little sympathy for unions today is because people now take for granted what will occur with the absence of union protection. Then again, most union jobs have gone overseas so labor laws can be skirted with abandon, including those laws which were designed to protect children.

If anything, HARLAN COUNTY, USA shows us a chilling glimpse of a world that existed only thirty years ago. It should be noted that thirty years may yield a change in philosophy, trends, ideology and education, but thirty years is nowhere near enough time to change human nature. When looking at the scenes in this documentary where strike breakers casually pull out baseball bats and .44 Magnums in order to destroy strikers, a chill will break out up and down your spine. After all, how much of the heart of human nature can change in thirty years? The only thing that really has changed is that the law no longer turns a blind eye to such vigilantism. Such violence still lurks in people's hearts and could break out anytime. Thirty years ago, when the last of the Americans fled Saigon and brought and end to the Vietnam conflict, no one believed that the United States would commit ground troops into a difficult situation, but Iraq has shown that such a past can turn around and become the present or future.

HARLAN COUNTY, USA may only have been released thirty years ago, but when viewing the documentary, some may believe they are looking at something that occurred 100 years ago and in a foreign land. This film is an incredibly stirring look at life in a forgotten segment of America that still exists today, but has been dropped down a black hole by those who have decided to ignore some of the inconvenient truths of what exists in the labor world.

Rating: * * ½ (out of 5)

One cannot help but wonder what Goal! The Dream Begins would be like if Michael Winterbottom, the originally planned director, actually helmed the production. Now directed by Danny Cannon, whose credits include Judge Dredd and I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, Goal! The Dream Begins is filled with every cliché imaginable in a sports movie. Nonetheless, the film is still mildly enjoyable, simply because it is really the first big budget movie about soccer. It is surprising that there have not been many films about the most popular sport in the world. It could be because soccer was never a popular sport in the US, or it could be because the sport itself is difficult to film. However, with the rising popularity of the sport in the US, and the global market becoming more significant, I hope there will be more films about the beautiful game in the future.

Goal! The Dream Begins tells the story of Santiago Munez, who as a boy follows his family to sneak into America illegally. As a young man, he works in a Chinese restaurant in Los Angeles, he works for his father cleaning pools for the rich, and he plays amateur soccer on the weekends. One weekend his soccer skills catch the eyes of an ex-soccer scout for Newcastle United, Glen Foy, who believes that Santiago has the talents to become a professional in England. Glen invites Santiago to England for a tryout, but the young man's father does not approve of Santiago chasing a dream. It is not until his grandmother lends a helping hand that Santiago finally gets to go to England. Up to this point, there are enough recycled plotlines that pretty much forecast the other recycled materials to come in the rest of the movie.

Unaccustomed to the weather and surface, Santiago does not do well at the tryout, but of course he is given a second chance. Anna Friel plays the token love interest, Nurse Roz Harmison. Almost without any explanations, Santiago is taken under the wings of Newcastle's new multimillion pound signing, Gavin Harris (played by Alessandro Nivola). They share a flat; they go clubbing, while the Arsene Wengeresque manager, Erik Dornhelm (played by Marcel Iures) is less than impressed with Santiago. Almost inevitably in this kind of movies, Santiago is given a chance to play in the first team. His father watches the match in Los Angeles, and is finally proud of his son. Then the climax is of course, the last match of the season, the most important match for the club. And do I have to tell you who is the hero of that match?

Aided by impressive CGI graphics, the matches look authentic in Goal! The Dream Begins. They really look like the actors are actually playing on the pitch with the real players in real matches. It is a thrill to watch those sequences, especially if you are a soccer fan. The apperences of famous football celebs such as Alan Shearer, Sven Goran Eriksson, David Beckham, Zinadine Zidane, and Raul, also adds a touch of authenticity to the film. Newcastle is a soccer mad city in England, and my Geordie friends told me they cried during the movie. Full of cliches? Yes. Utterly predictable? Absolutely. But put St. James's Park on the big screen, and show Newcastle winning? It is bound to make any Geordie believe this is the greatest movie ever made.

A Buena Vista release of a Walt Disney Pictures, Milkshake Films production. Produced by Mike Jefferies, Matt Barrelle, Mark Huffam. Executive producers, Lawrence Bender, Peter Hargitay. Co-producers, Danny Stepper, Jo Burn, Chris Ouwinga. Directed by Danny Cannon. Screenplay, Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais; story, Mike Jefferies, Adrian Butchart. Running time: 119 mins. Santiago Munez - Kuno BeckerGavin Harris - Alessandro NivolaGlen Foy - Stephen DillaneRoz Harmison - Anna FrielErik Dornhelm - Marcel IuresBarry Rankin - Sean PertweeChristina - Cassandra BellKieron Dyer - HimselfMal Braithwaite - Gary LewisMercedes - Miriam ColonHernan Munez - Tony PlanaBluto - Lee RossHughie McGowan - Kieran O'BrienCarl Francis - Ashley WaltersCarol Harmison - Frances BarberJamie Drew - Kevin Knapman


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Rating: * * * * 1/2 (out of 5)

The three women in Personal Velocity all have their flaws. It is their flaws that make them human; it is their questionable decisions that make us sympathize with them; and it is their ultimate choices that make them almost respectable.

Based on her own collection of short stories, writer/director Rebecca Miller's multilayered film consists of three short stories that are loosely connected through a news broadcast. It tells the stories of three women of different social classes who have to go through personal growth of one form or another. John Ventimiglia's voice over narrates the backgrounds of the characters with lyrical prose from the book. Combine that with Ellen Kuras' poetic digital video cinematography, the film has a literary yet spontaneous feel of short stories.

In the first story, Delia (played by Kyra Sedgwick) realizes that her marriage is on a downward spiral and has to make a decision of continuing on or starting a new life. Since she was a girl, men have always been attracted to her, and she had a reputation of being promiscuous before she was married. She married her abusive husband simply because he asked, even though she did later grow to love him. However, it is too late by that point as she realizes that he has actually grown to hate her.

In the second story, Greta (played by Parker Posey) wrestles with fidelity and ambitions. A professional woman who seems to have settled for a quiet but modest life suddenly has an opportunity to fulfill her, or maybe even more importantly, her famous father's ambitions. At the same time, she feels that her husband, a down to earth man who she once feels so comfortable with, does not match her, as her father would call it, "personal velocity".

The final story is about Paula's (played by Fairuza Balk) struggles of searching for her own existence, her place in life. Running away from a relationship, she encounters two strangers that hugely impact her life. One dies while on a date with her. The other one, a teenage hitchhiker, would become a catalyst of her growth and realization.

Ms. Miller lets us know her characters, sometimes even more than the characters know themselves. We hear their thoughts, sometimes in their own voices, but often through Mr. Ventimiglia's third person narration. All three stories have their own distinctive tones, as reflected by Ms. Kuras' sublime camerawork (Ms. Kuras won the best Cinematography award at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival). Delia's story has the most hand held shots of the three to express her inner and physical turmoil. The camera is mostly stationary in Greta's story, as her inner struggle is within a settled life. Paula is on a journey to discover herself, so there are more exterior shots with a cold tone.

The three actresses all give exceptional performances. Kyra Sedgwick is absolutely believable as the desirable, but tough as nail Delia. Parker Posey displays fantastic comic timing and emotional depth in her story, and brings an unexpected humorous aspect to the film. Even though I feel that the third story is the weakest of the three, Fairuza Balk brings much sensitivity to Paula with her big, expressive eyes.

Ms. Miller, the daughter of famed playwright Arthur Miller, is a very gifted artist. The characters she created are complex; her narrative is epodic and intelligent. In Personal Velocity, she painted three very intimate portraits of three very different women with an air of offhandedness, like a great painter who decides to play with watercolor and comes up with a work of charm and beauty.

Written and directed by Rebecca Miller, based on her book of short stories; director of photography, Ellen Kuras; edited by Sabine Hoffman; music by Michael Rohatyn; production designer, Judy Becker; produced by Lemore Syvan, Gary Winick and Alexis Alexanian; released by United Artists. Running time: 90 minutes. This film is rated R. WITH: John Ventimiglia (Narrator). Delia segment: Kyra Sedgwick (Delia) and Nicole Murphy (May Wurtzle). Greta segment: Parker Posey (Greta), Tim Guinee (Lee) and Ron Liebman (Avram). Paula segment: Fairuza Balk (Paula) and Seth Gilliam (Vincent).

Awards:
Won the Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival
Won the Cinematography Award at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival

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By Simon Woodhouse

Superhero movies can be a hit and miss affair. For every Spider-Man 2 (by far the best of the current crop), we have to suffer duds like Fantastic Four, Dare Devil, Electra and Superman Returns. Films involving costumed do-gooders seem to be very easy to get wrong, even more so than horror movie remakes. So what's the key to getting them right? Knowing and loving the subject matter has to be top of the list, and also appreciating what it is that makes superheroes watch-able. Spider-Man 2 works so well, because the scenes where there's no Spidey are just as enjoyable as the ones he's in. And the usually weighty superhero issues - dealing with the idea of being something more than everyone else, but at the same time being isolated by uniqueness, is handled in a very human way. There's also humor too, and that's vital. There's nothing worse than a superhero who takes himself too seriously. This, unfortunately, is the main problem with Hulk.

Thanks largely to the 70s TV show, Marvel Comic's Incredible Hulk is one of the most well known superheroes. He's not quite in the same league as Superman and Batman, but he's right up there. So it seemed obvious that at some point during the current superhero fad, the big green guy would be wheeled out and pepped up.

This version of the Hulk pretty much follows the comic book blueprint of his origin. Dr Bruce Banner (Eric Bana) is a clever guy, but something goes wrong during an experiment involving radiation, and his physiology is altered. The filmmakers however, have introduced a few new elements. Part of the Hulk's mutation has been passed onto him by his father, and the mix up with the radiation only makes this worse. Nano technology (a current favorite in Hollywood) also gets in on the act. Bruce absorbs some nano-mites during the disastrous experiment, and these help the Hulk to repair himself in an instant should he be hurt.

The experiment-gone-wrong is the first key scene in the film, but it doesn't happen until about a quarter of the way through. What comes before (and this might sound a bit shallow) is frankly quite boring. Bruce works with his ex-girlfriend Betty (Jennifer Connelly), but despite the actors' best efforts, there's absolutely no onscreen chemistry between Bana and his leading lady. Bruce's estranged dad (Nick Nolte) is also hanging around the lab, posing as a janitor. This does lend the film a creepy undertone, but Nolte's performance is too over the top to be taken seriously. Yet another subplot involves scientific entrepreneur Glen Talbot (Josh Lucas), whose links to the military and lust for Betty add more complications to the mix.

Key to any superhero film is the hero alter ego, the persona who gets to save the innocent bystanders, defeat the bad guy and get the girl. Hulk isn't that kind of hero. In fact, he's more of an anti-hero. When he does eventually appear, about a third of the way through the film (far too late), he doesn't perform any acts of daring-do, but instead just smashes up Bruce's lab. This might be exciting to watch, and you certainly can feel his anger, but it's a hollow extravagance with no real meaning.

As the movie progresses the plot becomes more involved, but more ridiculous too. Bruce's dad, and the slimy Glen Talbot, both provide the villainous elements. Though working toward different goals, they want to exploit the Hulk's power. Betty's dad, Major Ross (Sam Elliot), is charged with the task of dealing with the big green guy. This leads to Bruce being imprisoned by the army in an underground test facility somewhere in a Californian desert (think of Area 51). But of course he Hulks-out and escapes, and this provides the movie with its most memorable scenes. It says something for a film and its script when it's a growling, CGI giant who delivers the most emotional performance. That's what happens here. You can feel the Hulk's anger, but at the same time it's easy to sympathize with him. During the confrontation with different elements of the armed forces, it's the Hulk you feel sorry for, not the soldiers in the tanks or the pilots in the helicopter gunships.

The film climaxes with Bruce confronting his dad, in a battle that's supposed to epitomize their relationship. Banner senior has also received a dose of radiation, but it wasn't an accident. Father and son both change into their respective alter egos, and duke it out in a fight to the death. By this point in the film however, the Hulk's presence had lost some of its initial impact, and because he's the 'good guy' you know he's going to survive anyway.

Though the acting doesn't really work, and the script takes itself far too seriously, the movie does contain some wonderful cinematography. There are lots of close-ups of inanimate objects (plants mostly), and though I couldn't understand what this was supposed to be saying, it looked great. The Hulk himself is also quite impressive. He's none too realistic looking, but he does perform when it comes to smashing stuff. And it's this CGI character who provides the film with its one and only laugh - after clobbering a tank, he rips off the barrel and holds it like a club (you'll know which scene I'm talking about when you see it). If only there had been a few more moments like this, the whole movie would have been a lot more watch-able. I realize it's a serious subject matter, but superheroes aren't supposed to be all about stern looks and anger. Even Batman smiles once in a while. To get the most out of this movie, I recommend skipping through all the bits that don't contain the Hulk. What you'll then be left with is about forty-five minutes worth of the best on screen anger you've seen in a long time.

Directed by Peter Farrelly, Dumb & Dumber is, depending upon your unique sensibilties regarding humor, either one of the worst movies ever made or a comedic classic. I fall into the latter camp, and have laughed my ass off every single time I've seen it...and by now, that's probably a number approaching 35. Or more. I lost track a few years ago. But every time it's on, I stop channel surfing and remain glued and giggling for the remainder of the film.

The plot is simple...a complete and utter doofus and his equally doofusie best friend get caught up in a kidnapping scheme and travel cross-country in attempt to return an item to a beautiful woman.

Jim Carrey plays Lloyd Christmas, a limo driver with a horrible bowl haircut and a badly chipped tooth (from what I've read, that's a REAL chip and Carrey had a cap removed just for the flick) and an IQ that can't top 75 on his best day. He meets Mary Swanson (played by Lauren Holly), falls immediately in love, and winds up with her briefcase. What Lloyd DOESN'T know is that the briefcase contains a ton of cash intended as a ransom payment.

Jeff Daniels is Harry Dunne, Lloyd's best friend and intelectual equal. He runs his own grooming business, Mutt Cuts, out of his remodeled van...think Oscar Myer Weiner truck but with a giant furry coating and dog head. Lloyd and Harry fondly call it the 'Shaggin' Wagon'.

Harry and Lloyd share an apartment, are broker than broke, and have no job prospects...so they decide to take off to Aspen to find Mary and return her briefcase. Along the way, they find much adventure and opportunity to do stupid things...my favorites include them tricking a very angry trucker into paying for their meal instead of beating the crap out of them, trying to stop a PA trooper from drinking the pee in Lloyd's empty beer bottles when he stops them on suspicion of DUI, and...gosh, I could go on all day.

Hot on their trail are JP Shay (Karen Duffy) and Joe 'Mental' Mentaliano (Mike Starr), hired by the kidnappers to get the briefcase back. Joe pretends his car is inoperable and hitches a ride with Harry and Lloyd, and again we come to one of my favorites...Lloyd asks Joe if he wants to hear the most annoying sound ever and makes this...I don't even know what to call it...noise that alone is worth the cost of renting the movie. Throw in Harry and Lloyd dueting Mockingbird...and then add a family of illegals also hitching who only say 'yeah' for every word of the song...let the hilarity ensue.

Harry and Lloyd wind up taking some wrong turns, have a fight and run out of cash and go their separate ways for a while...reunited on a moped, they decide to complete their mission and get to Aspen frozen solid. Another argument happens over a pair of gloves when the boys are outside freezing, Harry tosses the briefcase...and it opens, money pouring out everywhere. They decide that Mary won't mind if they borrow some, so they leave IOU's for whatever they take and start spending like madmen and living the Aspen lifestyle.

They attend a benefit, dressed in orange and baby blue tuxedos, in order to find Mary. When Harry meets her, he falls for her too...and the fellows are suddenly battling for the same woman. Lloyd finds out that Harry has been secretly meeting Mary behind his back and has a date with her, and he sneaks a ton of Exlax into him...Harry arrives at Mary's ready to explode, and winds up in a bathroom with a broken toilet crapping his brains out, making enough noise to rouse the dead. Not for everyone, but this sort of humor amuses me on a base level I can't quite describe.

I won't ruin the ending on you...and belive me, the whole movie is LOADED with so much more than I've mentioned. Perfect for a rainy afternoon when you're feeling a little down or sorry for yourself, and make sure you rent it the first time out so you don't miss anything that gets cut for TV. Once you see it, it will surely become one of your favorites too.

By Christina VanGinkel

I first watched this show at about the time it was first released. I recall having little ones of my own and thinking how awful it would be if I were to be in a situation that I might be able to extract myself from much easier if I were not to have children. Similarly, if I were to make the choice to leave them behind, which I quickly concluded, I would not be able to do.

The movie Not Without My Daughter, 1991, tells the harrowing story of Betty Mahmoody's travel to and escape from the country of Iran. Betty Mahmoody is portrayed in the film by actor Sally Field, once the star of shows such as The Flying Nun, Mrs. Doubtfire, and Norma Rae to name just a select few. Alfred Molina stars as Sayed Bozorg Mahmoody, otherwise known throughout the movie as Moody.

In 1984, Betty Mahmoody made a decision that millions of wives make each year. She made the decision to go on vacation with her husband, Moody, and young daughter, Mahtob, but the difference in her choice when compared to the majority of wives making that seemingly innocuous decision was that she chose to go to the homeland of her husband Moody, the country of Iran, to Teheran. Then, as now, Iran as a whole was not known for its love of the American people, or its respect of the female herself, holding men in esteem above women, even referring to a woman and her children as the man's property. Like any culture though, thankfully there were those who had fond memories of times in America, and it was with the help of one of these individuals that Betty was able to get through this terrible time.

The movie shows her hesitation in going, yet as many young wives do, she chose to go to please her husband and for the fact that she would get to meet his family and revisit with his cousin and wife who they had as visitors in their own home in America. He assured her it would be a couple of weeks out of their lives, they would be able to do some shopping, and then they would be headed home. A doctor, he had lost his job though, and there were other warning signs that after decades in the United States, a trip home might not be just a quick visit.

Sure enough, almost from day one after arriving in Iran, Moody makes it clear that he has made the decision that they will be staying in Iran. Betty has also made the decision from almost the exact same time that no, she and Mahtob would not be staying. Getting out of Iran is a lot harder than she ever imagined it would be though. Moody has her and Mahtob's passports, but even if they had them, she is told by a woman at the Swiss embassy that they would not be of much help. The fact is when a woman marries an Iranian man, she renounces her American citizenship in the eyes of Iran and becomes an Iranian citizen, along with any children the two might have. So in essence, both Betty and Mahtob were Iranian citizens, in a land where men own their wives and children, asking for help from an embassy that they had no allegiance with, as there was no American embassy there to help her.

What ensues is a graphic story of Betty and Mahtob as they try to both live and deal with the daily life of living in Iran, going to school, studying the Koran, going to the shops, and being beaten when Moody believes she has stepped out of bounds. At the same time, Betty is forging ahead with any plan she can find to get her and her daughter out of the most inhospitable place on the planet she would have never dreamed to find herself in.

With the help of near strangers, a plan is formed, and Betty and Mahtob end up literally walking, even crawling and being carried out of the country through the mountains into the country of Turkey. This movie is worth revisiting in these times, especially as our current relations with the country of Iran have not improved greatly.

I love watching movies with my two teenaged daughters. We like to think we have taught them to enjoy a variety of movies types, from mysteries to histories, and dramas to chick flicks. Together, we enjoy everything from the X-men to Hello Dolly to Great Expectations. The only movies we will not watch are horror movies. This afternoon my daughters went to our local library to find a video to watch this afternoon. They brought home Ella Enchanted, which they had already seen once or twice, but this time, they asked me to watch it with them. While I have seen Anne Hathaway in several other movies and loved them, I did manage to catch the very end of Ella Enchanted several months back. All I saw was Anne Hathaway, Hugh Dancy, and a cast of mythical looking creatures singing a very lame rendition of "Don't Go Breakin' My Heart," made famous many years ago by Elton John and Kiki Dee. Being a music lover that is partial to Elton John and that very song, I was immediately put off. Still, my teen daughters were telling me that they wanted to spend a Saturday afternoon with me, their mother - something that can be a rare occurrence in this day and age; so I caved and sat down to watch the movie.

I looked around the room for any paperwork I might be able to work on while the movie played, but none was about and the movie was starting. I looked into my daughters' faces and saw that they were excited to be with me. They told me straight away that this is a chick flick and that it is silly, but that they thought I would like it. I have to say, not long into the movie, I was captivated.

The movie begins with baby Ella lying in her tiny cradle fussing, and her mother comes to pick her up. Nearby is the family fairy named Mandy who seems to be employed there at the home, but who is also a very dear friend to Ella's mother. The fairy, played by Minnie Driver, was a pleasant surprise to me, as she is one lady who can definitely act. The story finds conflict very early when Ella's godmother, a hapless fairy played by Vivica A. Fox, gives the baby the gift of obedience, meaning that all her life she will always have to do as she is told. Although Mandy and Ella's mother are perplexed and unhappy about the gift, it can only be undone by the fairy who gave it.

The story goes on to show how this immediate obedience affects Ella's young life. By the time she becomes a young woman, she is used to people telling her what to do, and although people do not know about her situation, she often finds herself doing things she would not normally do. In predictable fairy tale fashion, Ella's mother dies and her father remarries a horrible woman with two equally horrible daughters, reminiscent of the step-sisters in Cinderella. The father must go away on business and the sisters soon learn of Ella's curse. They tell her to do all types of odd things, manipulating and humiliating her in the process.

Equally as predictable, Ella befriends and then falls for the prince who is in line to the throne of an evil king. Through a series of adventures through the land of giants, the land of elves, and countless daring mishaps, Ella searches for her godmother, the only one who can take back the "gift" so that Ella can ultimately lead a normal life. Along the way, she is forced to do odd, embarrassing, and sometimes bad things, but in the end, when she finally does find her godmother, she learns that she had a power within her to break the spell all along.

Ella Enchanted has a wonderful cast including the aforementioned actors, as well as Cary Elwes of the Princess Bride fame as the evil king, handsome Patrick Bergen as Ella's father, and Eric Idle of Monty Python as the narrator. I must say that although Ella Enchanted is a fairly predictable fairy tale, it was funny, smart, and was a wonderful, enchanting surprise!

By Simon Woodhouse

Satires about war are tricky things to pull off. Armed conflict is not really a subject most people want to laugh at, and nuclear war is even less likely to amuse. However, because war is so often born out of ridiculous situations, if the subject is handled in an equally ludicrous fashion, it can make for great comedy, and at the same time show how stupid war is. This is the approach taken in Dr. Strangelove, and it certainly works.

The movie uses another celluloid comedy tradition to add to the ridiculousness - a single actor playing multiple characters. In this case it's Peter Sellers, who excels in the very different roles of Group Captain Lionel Mandrake, US President Merkin Muffley, and the title character - Dr. Strangelove.

Set at the height of 1960s cold war paranoia, the movie tells the story of how America's strategic nuclear response can be initiated by one insane general. The General in question is Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Heyden), one of many characters with a ridiculous name. For reasons that have something to do the fluoridization of water and sexual impotence, the General issues all US B52 bombers with a secret code that instructs them to attack predetermined targets in the USSR. Unfortunately, they can only be recalled using a coded message transmitted by the same General, and he isn't about to do that.

As the planes move closer to their targets, President Merkin Muffley is alerted to the fact by General 'Buck' Turgison (George C Scott). All upper echelon commanders are called to the war room, and a heated debate begins. It soon becomes clear recalling the planes is going to be very difficult, so in order to try and avert a massive Russian retaliation, the president contacts his opposite number in Moscow. Because this is a black comedy, the laughs aren't slapstick or crude. The humor is subtle, most of it based on the absurdity of nuclear conflict. As the debate about what is to be done continues, General Turgison suggests not recalling the planes, but instead launching an all out nuclear attack against Russia. And even though the enemy retaliation would be catastrophic, as a military man Turgison is optimistic about the idea of only 10-20 million US civilian deaths 'depending on the breaks'.

Meanwhile, aboard the B52 of Major T.J. 'King' Kong (Slim Pickens), the crew are preparing themselves for the task in hand. This involves each man checking the contents of his survival kit, which includes such bizarre items as a combination miniature Bible and Russian phrase book, nine packs of chewing gum, a pack of propolactics, three lipsticks and three pairs of nylon stockings.

Back on the base with General Ripper, Group Captain Lionel Mandrake, a British RAF Officer serving in the US Air Force, tries desperately to talk some sense into the mad man. Portrayed as an upper-class twit by Peter Sellers, Captain Mandrake approaches the situation with a reserved British demeanor that dictates he never once raises his voice. Unfortunately this results in him being no good for the task in hand. As military procedure means the base must be locked down after the attack codes have been issued, the President orders it to be stormed by soldiers stationed nearby. This results in Americans fighting Americans on American soil, but it doesn't persuade General Ripper to recall the planes. More absurdities follow. When the President invites the Russian ambassador into the war room, General Turgison and the man from the USSR come to blows. This leads to the President uttering the immortal line, 'gentlemen, you can't fight in here, this is the war room.'

If ironic humor isn't to your liking, then Dr. Strangelove won't be either. Filmed in black and white, it has an almost documentary style about it, especially the scenes around the airbase when the two groups of soldiers are fighting. And as the movie progresses the situation becomes more and more ridiculous, especially when the President starts talking to the Russian Premiere, who's drunk.

Just as it looks like the worst is going to happen, Captain Mandrake manages to guess the recall codes and the B52s are ordered home - all except one. The radio on Major Kong's plane has been damaged by a Russia missile attack, and it's impossible for the crew to receive the code. This triggers the activation of the Russian's doomsday machine. Enter Dr. Strangelove himself, a Nazi scientist now working for the Americans. Confined to a wheelchair, and afflicted with the worst sort of nervous twitch, Strangelove explains to everyone in the war room exactly what the doomsday machine can do. After hearing that it'll destroy the world, General Turgison remarks 'gee, I wish we had one of them.'

Of the three characters played by Peter Sellers, Dr. Strangelove is the best. It's a totally over the top performance, but perfectly suited to the subject matter. And though Sellers is most well known for the character of Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther movies, this film is his finest hour. George C. Scott's portrayal of the overzealous General Turgison is also a pleasure to watch. The film was produced, directed and partly written by Stanley Kubrick. Responsible for such other cinema classics as Spartacus, 2001 and The Shining, Kubrick shows here that he's also a master of black comedy. Never has war, or the people responsible for it, been made to look so incompetent as they are here. But because the whole situation is portrayed in such a ludicrous way, it really will help you to stop worrying about the bomb.

By Brandi M. Seals

Someone Like You is one of my all time favorite movies. I cannot count the number of times I have watched it. It makes for a great movie when all the girls are hanging out or when you are home alone. And everyone once in awhile it is fun to watch it with someone who can give you the male perspective. However, be forewarned that men tend to criticize the movie.

Someone Like You stares Ashley Judd, Hugh Jackman, Greg Kinnear and Marisa Tormei. It is a romantic comedy that is light-hearted, funny and endearing. It is the tale of love, heartbreak, and friendship.

The movie was released 2001 and is the story of Jane Goodale (not to be confused with the renowned naturalist known for her work with apes). This Jane works for a talk show - think the Sally Jesse Rafael show or something similar. Jane is responsible for booking talent for the show; Diane is the show's host, Eddie (Hugh Jackman), and Ray (Greg Kinnear) also work for the show.

Ray intrigues Jane. He is the new producer with a girlfriend that just does not seem to understand him. They begin seeing each other despite the girlfriend and quickly get hot and heavy. They even start shopping for an apartment together all while keeping things under wraps at the office. Too bad they happen to run into Eddie one day.

Shortly after that things start to head south. Ray seems disconnected. He keeps finding something wrong with all of the apartments they look at and in the end he leaves Jane. All of which creates for awkwardness at work; especially since Jane's apartment has been re-rented.

Partly due to desperation and partly due to the fact it bothers Ray, Jane becomes Eddie's roommate. The two get along well despite the fact that Eddie is a womanizer that brings someone new everyday.

In her attempts to get over Ray, Jane starts doing research on men. She wants to know why they cheat, what drives them to do it. She becomes so obsessed that she has notebooks filled with factoids. Jane becomes convinced that men are like cows. You see, while doing her research, Jane finds out that a bull will never be with the same cow twice. After he has done is business, the cow looks for a new cow to get with.

Meanwhile, Jane's best friend, Liz (Marisa Tormei), works for a men's magazine that is has considered running a column from a woman's point of view. Liz convinces Jane to write a piece for the magazine all about how men are destined to be cheaters. They concoct a fake author of the article, some old woman that has been studying sexuality all her life.

Later, Ray shows interest in Jane once again. He asks her out for New Years and she accepts. Eddie does not understand why Jane is putting herself through this once again but he is there for her when Ray stands her up.

Later at work Jane sees Diane wearing a shirt that Jane had bought for Ray while they were together. Suddenly it all makes sense. Diane is Ray's girlfriend…the one he went back to on New Year's Eve instead of going back to Jane.

When the article hits the news stands it is a huge hit. Everyone is talking about it and everyone wants to interview the author. That includes Diane. Jane originally tells Diane that there is no way they can get the author on the show, but she changes her mind and decides to do a phone interview.

At the last minute while hiding in her office preparing to do the interview, Jane decides to go on. She wants to admit to the world that she was wrong. Men do not have to cheat and they are not always in pursuit of a 'new cow.' Ray going back to Diane was proof enough of that. As Jane speaks she begins to realize something. Love is about being there for someone when they are at their worse telling them that everything will all be okay. It is then that Jane realizes that she has finally moved past Ray and is actually in love with Eddie.

Serenity is the eagerly awaited film by devoted fans of the cancelled TV show Firefly, who incidentally call themselves browncoats, but you don't have to be a browncoat to enjoy this science fiction romp.

That said it should be noted that while one doesn't have to be familiar with the TV show to understand the film it does help in that one will have a better appreciation for the background of the film's world.

Basically, it takes place roughly five hundred years from now in another solar system terraformed and colonized by humanity. The story follows the adventures of a crewmembers and passengers who eke out a living as smugglers on board a freighter ship called Serenity while trying to avoid the Alliance's eyes. The Alliance is the authoritarian governing body that runs this system comprised of dozens if not hundreds of habitable worlds. The inner worlds which were first colonized have the latest in technology, resources and culture, think of it as the U.S. today, while the outer worlds are today's poorer nations with limited technology and resources and the basic look of these outer worlds are a bizarre mesh of Old West and Asian cultures. It's not unusual to see characters dressed like cowboys riding horses through dusty Western-type towns that show signs with Asian script while spaceships fly overhead. It can be jarring for some to watch and not easily explained which could explain why the Fox network quickly canceled the show after fourteen episodes. Nonetheless, Firefly built up an intense cult following not seen since the early Star Trek shows and DVD sales were strong enough for Universal Pictures to greenlight a follow-up film.

This film, written and directed by the show's creator Joss Whedon, takes place a few months after the last episode and reunites the entire original cast. The film stays faithful to the show's characters and situations while expanding the thematic world as well. What helps with the expansion are the impressive special effects that for the most part work. One appreciates them more when it's realized that the film only cost $39 million. But despite that what works the most are the attention to the characters. What's interesting about this is that the characters are basically the same people from the show but there are subtle differences that would be appreciated if one is familiar with the show.

For starters, a couple of characters Inara Serra (Morena Baccarin) and Shepard Book (Ron Glass) aren't on the ship anymore having both gone off to pursue other paths. Crewmembers Jayne Cobb (Adam Baldwin) and Zoe Alleyne (Gina Torres) are more critical of their leader while Kaylee Frye (Jewel Staite) is noticeably thinner from the hard life they've been experiencing. But the most notable difference is seen in the main character Capt. Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) who is slightly darker; more embittered which harkens back to his original presentation in the show's pilot episode. In this film, Reynolds goes through a personal journey where he becomes better able to recover his faith that he lost during a war against the Alliance. This reawakening is intertwined with the film's main story that picks up one of the show's plot threads.

The Alliance is after teenage fugitive River Tam (Summer Glau) who was once subjected to clandestine experiments that turned her into a psychic super soldier but left her insane. This time the Alliance sends a philosophical agent known only as the Operative (Chiwetel Ejiofor) to track her down and eliminate her. This Operative is exceptionally refined and brutal and won't stop at anything to find his prey. Ejiofor's performance is one of the best in the film and the character is one of the more complex villains ever seen on film.

River and her brother Dr. Simon Tam (Sean Maher) are still hiding out in Mal's ship, but tensions on board run high due to her unpredictable behavior. During one of her psychotic episodes it's discovered that she holds hidden knowledge about an abandoned world called Miranda. This and the Operative's attempts to capture Summer sends the ship's crew to the dangerous borders of known space to find out about Miranda with the Operative and the Alliance in hot pursuit.

It turns out that the mystery behind Miranda involves the machinations of the Alliance which they would like to keep quiet because public knowledge of Miranda could turn the populace against the Alliance. This is why the Operative is so intent on finding River since he is slavishly devoted to the Alliance and will do anything to protect it. The Miranda mystery also ties in with the show's other villains, the savage and cannibalistic Reavers. For the first time, we're shown what they look like, as well as their backstory and it's all terrifying.

What works for the film is that the complexities of the plotline aren't overwhelming and are fairly easy to follow. But as stated before the heart of the film are the characters which are well portrayed, defined, and grounded. The actors know their parts intimately and it shows, as does Whedon who gives each character a moment to shine (which gives Baldwin and Alan Tudyk's Wash some of the funniest lines in the film). Like any good story, the characters here are allowed to grow and change. Also there is enough humor that doesn't go overboard to balance out the story and keep it from becoming too maudlin.

The film doesn't try to resolve every plot thread from the show, in fact some are kept vague which leaves one wanting to know more about the characters and what happens next, which is always a good sign (though a sequel is unlikely due to poor box office results). Serenity is worth checking out on DVD or cable since, Browncoat enthusiasm aside; it is one of the most well realized science fiction films ever made that can be enjoyed by most. Who knows? It may leave some wanting to find out more about this fantastic 'verse, which can be done by seeing the show itself.

J.L. Soto

It's been a long time since I've seen something that can truly be called a "political thriller." The genre doesn't seem to be as popular as it once was and the movies that do get made are either too complex for most people, myself included, to understand (think Syriana) or just aren't very interesting. But with Sean Penn and Nicole Kidman in the leading roles and director Sydney Pollack behind the lens, it seemed that The Interpreter would be a solid new entry in the category.

Kidman stars as Silvia Broome, an American citizen who grew up in Africa but has been living in the U.S. and working as an interpreter at the United Nations for several years. She once lived in a (fictional) war-torn country named Matobo, where she lost her mother, father, and sister at an early age when their car tripped a landmine. After that, Silvia and her brother Simon took up the cause of opposition guerillas intent on overthrowing president Edmond Zuwanie (played by Earl Cameron) because of the many "crimes against humanity" he perpetrated in Matobo. But then Broome decided that she could best serve her country through diplomacy and used her language skills at the U.N. instead.

One day after work, Broome realizes that she forgot some items in the sound booth above the General Assembly floor. While there, one of the headphone sets in the booth picks up a transmission of people talking down on the floor. The lights are off and nobody's supposed to be there, so an intrigued Broome picks up the headphones and promptly overhears that there's going to be an assassination attempt made on Zuwanie when he comes to speak before the General Assembly in a couple of days. Broome had flicked the light switch on when she entered the booth, and now realizes that she could clearly be seen by the people on the floor.

Broome reports the overheard conversation first to U.N. security officials, then to the Secret Service. A man named Tobin Keller (Penn) and his partner Dot Woods (Catherine Keener) are assigned to the case. Keller doesn't necessarily believe Broome's story right off the bat because, as he says, some people just "like the attention." He orders a polygraph for Broome, which comes back as inconclusive. So Keller must follow up on the case just in case Broome is telling the truth.

From there, the rest of the movie deals with the investigation into the alleged assassination attempt, as well as a closer look into Broome's past to see if she's everything that she claims to be.

I have to say that I thought The Interpreter was a good, but not great, movie. Of course Penn and Kidman were excellent in their roles. They are both Oscar winners and I know that they can make any movie they're in even better. The main plotline was compelling enough to maintain my interest throughout most of the 2-hour running time, and I found that I could follow along with what was going on reasonably well.

However, there were some things that just didn't make sense in the plot, where characters seem to contradict themselves and their earlier motivations without rhyme or reason. This is not, as some people might think, the fault of the screenwriter, but usually is an indication that the script has been through several rewrites and has been tinkered with by someone other than the original writer (which was definitely the case for this movie). At any rate, once the characters' actions started not to make sense, I found that I didn't really care who the would-be assassin was.

In addition, I thought the ending wasn't very satisfying at all. It didn't resolve anything and left me feeling as though there were still too many unanswered questions. As a viewer, I feel that my reward for sitting through a movie should be to get answers to all the questions that are brought up during the course of the film, but that didn't happen here.

Overall, The Interpreter wasn't quite the caliber of movie I expected it to be with names like Penn, Kidman, and Pollack attached to it. But it wasn't bad either and would be a decent choice for your next DVD rental.

Lupin the 3rd:The Secret of Mamo is an anime, or Japanese animation, movie. It introduces the master thief, Lupin the 3rd, and his team. Jigen is the skilled gunman, Goemon is the master swordsman, and Fujiko is the femme fatale, who may or may not be double-crossing the guys at any given moment. Zenigata, an inspector from Interpol dogs Lupin's every step, hoping to bring him in. But Zenigata is the least of his problems when a power-hungry little man steals Fujiko and seems bent on destroying the entire world.

Lupin the 3rd is a cultural icon in Japan. Introduced in a series of comics, this gentleman thief and his group of cohorts have been the subject of three television series resulting in at least 200 episodes, and a series of movies and television specials. While the first television episodes appeared in the 70s, Lupin is still greatly popular today.

To understand my thoughts on The Secret of Mamo, I think it is important to provide a little background on my Lupin experience. I was first introduced to the world of Lupin the 3rd when Cartoon Network played episodes from one of the television series late at night. At first I was put off by the animation. It was done in such a style that it was obviously a cartoon from the 60s or 70s. While I'm sure there were some fine cartoons produced during that era, but I've watched enough bad Hannah-Barbera cartons from the time that it made me wary.

However, one night when nothing else was on, I gave it a try, and I was pleasantly surprised. The show was funny, if not downright hilarious at times, and the plots involved some of the craziest schemes imaginable. I was hooked.

So it was only natural that I would want to check out the Lupin the 3rd movies available. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. Like far too many movies based on anime series, they lost more of the fun and interesting things that drew me in to begin with. They were too dramatic, there were fewer crazy schemes, and worst of all, these movies distributed by different companies used completely different voice actors to dub each production, so I wasn't even hearing the voices I was used to.

So The Secret of Mamo automatically receives a favorable reaction from me because it was translated and dubbed by the same production company as the television series featured on Cartoon Network. Here were the Lupin, Fujiko, Goemon, Jigen, and Zenigata I was used to.

The movie was also created during the production of the 70s television series, so it matched its spirit in many ways. The movie's theme song was a variation on the television series theme song. The background music also copied or at the very least mirrored the television show's funky beats. The animation quality was higher because it was a movie, but it still had a distinctive old school look.

Even with all these touches, though, it didn't quite live up to my expectations. Some moments felt dragged out just to fill up time. In fact, there was a scene that felt like the climax of the movie, but then I looked at the time, and realized the movie still had 40 minutes left, and I had no idea how they were going to fill the rest of the time. The jokes and outrageous plots weren't nearly as abundant as they were in the series. I'm not sorry I watched it, but if I want to spend 100 minutes with Lupin in the near future, I think I'll choose to watch four or five episodes of the television series instead of just one movie.

While I was drawn to the movie because I was already a fan of Lupin the 3rd, I don't think it's necessary to have seen any of the Lupin television show to enjoy the movie. The characters aren't directly introduced in the movie; they're already working together, or not working together in the case of Fujiko, but their relationships aren't so complex that you couldn't pick up on them easily. In fact, maybe someone who wasn't already a fan of Lupin would appreciate it a bit more than I did because they wouldn't be looking for it to match anything else. They could evaluate it on its own merits.

Memoirs of a Geisha was a runaway best-seller in 1997 for author Arthur Golden, and the story seemed like it had all the elements of an fantastic film as well. It had a strong leading character, well developed minor characters, and very compelling plotlines. In addition, Memoirs of a Geisha was a period piece and offered a glimpse into a world seldom explored in Hollywood -- factors that Oscar voters have historically embraced. In other words, everyone knew that Memoirs of a Geisha would someday be a movie, but no one could have predicted that it would take so long.

Apparently, the movie rights were purchased soon after the novel's release, yet the finished film didn't see the light of day until eight years later. Several different directors -- including Steven Spielberg -- were attached to the project, but backed out along the way. Similarly a lot of different actresses were considered for the lead part of Chiyo/Sayuri. But things kept falling apart, so the project lingered in Hollywood limbo for years and years. Meanwhile, fans of the book (myself included) could do nothing but wait patiently and hope that everything worked out.

Well, the movie finally did get made, and it opened in the United States on December 11, 2005. I was surprised to see that the movie didn't get very good reviews from the critics. Most of the famous critics were only lukewarm in their praise of Memoirs of a Geisha while others absolutely panned it. I was determined to see it, though, and wouldn't let the reviews stop me this time.

The movie opens with a scene of two young girls being taken from their beds by their father and handed over to a stranger in the dead of night. The two girls are a young Chiyo, then just 10 years old, and her older sister Satsu. They learn that they've been sold by their father, who can no longer afford to care for them since their mother became terminally ill, and will be taken far away from their fishing village to become servants in a geisha house.

Upon their arrival, the girls are immediately separated and sent to live in different houses. Chiyo goes to work for Mrs. Nitta (played by Kaori Momoi), the "mother" of the geisha house. There is another servant girl, named Pumpkin, who is close to Chiyo's age and provides companionship during this time. Mrs. Nitta's is also home to a geisha named Hatsumomo (Li Gong), who is one of the most famous geisha in the area. In fact, Hatsumomo appears to be the only geisha in Mrs. Nitta's house that earns money, so everyone's livelihood depends on her success.

Hatsumomo knows this, and takes full advantage of it. She treats everyone with disrespect and seems to go out of her way to make Chiyo's life miserable. They often clash, and Chiyo, being nothing but a servant girl, always comes away with the short end of the stick.

One day, when Chiyo is feeling particularly down because she missed a chance to rendezvous with her sister and run away, a kindly man known simply as "the Chairman" (Ken Watanabe) notices her on the street and stops to buy her a flavored ice treat and give her some money wrapped in a handkerchief. Chiyo notices that the Chairman is distinctive and has two geisha with him. She immediately takes strength from that bit of kindness showed to her and resolves to do everything she can to become a geisha and be part of the Chairman's world.

From that point forward, Memoirs of a Geisha deals with Chiyo's training and eventual rise to the position of one of the most favored geisha in all of Kyoto. And it deals with the love that Chiyo harbors for the Chairman and the way her love endures despite the many obstacles thrown in her way.

Overall, I thought the film was very good and didn't deserve to be panned by critics and audiences. First of all, there were many truly wonderful performances in this film. Ziyi Zhang was excellent as the grown-up version of Chiyo/Sayuri. I know there was a lot of commotion about the filmmakers' decision to hire a Chinese actress to play the lead role, but I didn't care at all. I thought Zhang did a great job and I wasn't concerned about her ethnicity at all. Ken Watanabe was also fantastic, as expected. He's a Hollywood veteran and well known to American audiences, so I didn't expect anything less from him.

But I was pleasantly surprised to see a few of the supporting actresses really steal the show. In particular, Li Gong as Hatsumomo was superb! She was riveting in all her scenes and spewed forth so much hatred, venom, and jealousy towards Chiyo that it was amazing. And Michelle Yeoh also gave a very strong performance as Mameha, the geisha who eventually undertakes Chiyo's training. You will not be disappointed by the acting in this movie!

A second thing I liked about Memoirs of a Geisha is that it was filmed beautifully. The sets and the kimonos used throughout the production are stunning and really made it feel as though the viewer were being taken into a different world. The movie won three technical Oscars, and it's easy to see why. The movie is just wonderful to look at.

If I had to tell you about something I didn't like in Memoirs of a Geisha, it would be the fact that the beginning of the movie took so long. The film spends 41 minutes (yes, I was watching the clock) on Chiyo's childhood, which was pretty boring. The only thing that prevented me from falling asleep during that time was the presence of Li Gong on the screen. Otherwise, there was really nothing worth watching at that time. I know that it was necessary to show a bit of Chiyo's childhood in order to establish some background for the audience, set up her meeting with the Chairman, and show how deeply Hatsumomo's hatred ran, but if 10 or 15 minutes could have been shaved off the beginning and devoted to showing more scenes of Chiyo/Sayuri and the Chairman later on, that would have made a big difference.

Even with the overly long beginning, I still liked Memoirs of a Geisha. The story is as powerful on the screen as it is in Golden's original novel, and I highly recommend this movie to anyone that wants to see something vastly different from the usual Hollywood fare. Don't be scared off by what the critics had to say about Memoirs of a Geisha. It's actually a very good movie!

Review by Garnet Brooks

This film is an adaptation of Umberto Eco's book of the same name. Its stars are Sean Connery as Brother William and Christian Slater as his aid Adso. F. Murray Abraham is a representative of the Inquisition sent to extract information. The director is Jean-Jacques Annaud.

The film is set in the middle ages. Brother William and Adso are traveling to a Benedictine monastery. The two are themselves Franciscans. Brother William is a learned man versed in classical knowledge but he also has qualities of both a detective and a scientist. He carries with him scientific instruments like his astrolabe which are concrete representations of his way of thinking.

When they are greeted and made at home in the monastery they also learn that one of its brothers has apparently committed suicide. The man Adelmo was an illustrator of manuscripts. The man is believed to have jumped from a tower window. Brother William is not so sure. He and Adso investigate the death and quickly come to the conclusion that there are hidden motives and that someone might have killed the illustrator. Others begin to die. Venantius, a translator, and Berengar, a library assistant also meet gruesome deaths. Brother William follows clues but others in the monastery believe the devil is at work. The blind librarian Jorge de Burgos admonishes the monks one day for laughing. Brother William comes to believe that a book about humor is at the core of the mystery. The men who die all have black stains on their hands and tongues. It is as if they had touched a poisoned book but Brother William does not know which one. The library itself is off limits. Brother William comes to believe that the book is a lost volume written by Aristotle.

A new terror arrives at the monastery. Bernardo Gui a representative of the Inquisition arrives and intensifies the already existing conflicts among the brothers. He heightens their fears and identifies a helpless peasant girl as a participant in a satanic ritual. She and two others are questioned and tortured. The girl whose name is never known in the film is the woman that Adso has begun to love. The girl is the nameless rose of the title. Adso asks William to save the girl. Brother William is extremely reluctant to do so because he has encountered Gui before. In that encounter William barely escaped with his life. To disagree with an inquisitor is heresy in itself. William tries to help and is again in danger. But it is too late for the three accused are taken to be burned at the stake.

The final third of the movie is full of drama. The fate of the three accused of heresy, the fates of William and Adso, and the well being of everyone in the abbey is in the balance. A force to counter the inquisitor comes from an unlikely source.

This is a mystery but a very atypical one. The medieval setting is rendered in such detail by the filmmakers that it seems to come alive. The settings are in choir, cloister, vaults, crypts, and catacombs. This heightens the sense of mystery and otherworldliness. Grand historical conflicts are captured here too. The action takes place at a time when the struggle to destroy heretical beliefs was intense. They were in the process of eliminating divergent religious views. Contained also in the matrix are discussions of church doctrine and matters of philosophy which might be thought too theoretical to incorporate into a film. The issues translate nicely though and do not seem overly abstract or out of place. They also do not slow down the action of the plot. The film manages to be quite suspenseful despite debates about whether or not Jesus owned the clothes he wore.

The mystery genre can be quite formulaic. When you've seen one footprint you've seen them all. Yet this film manages to make finding footprints fresh again. Some of these issues are addressed in the audio commentary by director Annaud and in the German documentary included in the DVD. Annaud says that he thinks the book's author Eco believes that there is little new and that the art in making something is stringing the old ideas together in a fresh way. The film certainly does this. Even its look is novel. Instead of the regulation Hollywood faces this film is populated with people who have memorable looks. Some of them might have emerged from a Rembrandt painting. The commentary is a good one and there is also footage of an interview with Eco who talks about his book but does not speak much of the literary theory behind it. Eco is a professor of semiotics. The meaning associated with the nameless rose is not overtly apparent. Rather it is complex, ephemeral and thus it exists in the mind of the reader as a presence in a way it could not if it were explicated stared. The rose haunts Adso the rest of his life. And so she haunts us too.

Review by Garnet Brooks

This first X-Men film is directed by Brian Singer. Its cast includes Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Famke Jannsen, James Marsden, Halle Berry, and Anna Paquin. The film is one of several comic book adaptations that manage to be excellent.

The X-Men are comic book mutants. One of the constant sources of weirdness in translating comics to film is the need to explain the costumes and names. The makers of this film wisely decided to minimize the use of the comic book names. Thus, Wolverine is more often called Logan. Rogue is referred to as Marie at times but more often is actually called Rogue. Magneto is Eric and fortunately for actor Ian McKellen the character only has to appear into that silly magenta cap intermittently. Patrick Stewart gets to wear nice, tasteful blue pin-stripped suits most of the time. The modified sun glasses James Marsden wears only make him look slightly campy.

The story begins in a concentration camp during World War II where young Eric discovers his ability to bend metal while crying and trying to get to his family. They are lead away to the crematorium and only he survives. The bereft Eric becomes embittered and misogynistic. He has lost faith in mankind early on and is scheming to advance the cause of the mutants at the human race's expense. Charles Xavier has known Eric many years. Instead of becoming disaffected he has spent his time building a school for mutants and striving to protect them in less radical ways. Xavier can project his thoughts into the minds of others and influence them. His protege Jean can do something similar.

Many years after Eric's horrible experiences, in Mississippi a young girl is realizing that she has mutant powers. This is Marie. She too discovers her powers in a horrible way. The first boy she loves is nearly killed because she kissed him. Marie flees far away to the north where she meets Logan. He is older and has been wrestling from time to time to make money. Logan does not remember much about his past but he knows some terrible experiment was conducted on him. Whatever it was it left him with a metal clad skeleton and razor sharp metal claws that extrude when he becomes threatened. Logan and Marie are attacked by Sabertooth a henchman of Magneto. They are rescued and taken to Xavier's school.

There are two battles brewing: the one between Magneto's forces and Charles Xavier's and the one between mutants and the humans who want to destroy them all. This latter group is spearheaded by a powerful senator who wants to make all the mutants register. These people want to exclude mutants from public schools and presumably from public life. No clear parallel is drawn in this film but in the background one waits. Eric, we presume, was Jewish. It was the fascist agenda of Hitler in World War II to destroy all the Jews. This was termed the final solution: annihilation. It began by making Jews wear badges on their arms. They were closely monitored before they were forced into labor camps and crematoriums. This is not stated but what might be in store for the mutants is a long slide down this slippery slope. What begins with registration might turn in time into annihilation. The mutants are different and people fear them. Would the policies of people like the senator lead in time to genocide? This may be a part of reasoning of Magneto. He has clearly decided that humans are expendable. He has a plan that will turn normal humans into mutants. It is unclear if Magneto knows or cares but Xavier learns that the process will kill the people subjected to it. The film nicely sets up these conflicts and the battle is played out in and around the Statue of Liberty.

The film has sweeping conflicts and good special effects. Rogue winds up being the hardly helpless damsel in distress and the X-Men fight to save her. The X-Men have a great aircraft to tool around in while they are fighting evil. Magneto has a whirling giant magnet that produces an ethereal wave. Xavier has the best toy. It is a circular chamber with a thin metallic walkway leading to an admittedly dorky looking skullcap which he puts on when he wants to find all the mutants. One of the henchpeople is Mystique in dark blue rubberized bodysuit. She poisons Xavier and the other X-Men have to band together to save Rogue.

This one disc DVD set has less in the way of special features than some. It has a nice Brian Singer interview though. The film is a science fiction classic and well worth watching.

Review by Garnet Brooks

The second in this series is almost as good as the first. The director is Sam Raimi. Toby Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, and Albert Molina are its stars. It is a blockbuster movie that nonetheless manages to be complex and interesting.

While the mirror image of the Green Goblin appears briefly, the villain here is Doc Ock short for Doctor Octopus. Goofy names are still around in this second film and this one testifies to Spiderman's comic book origins. The doctor is part mad scientist and part ethical man. He is looking for a cheap, clean power source which for some unfathomable reason leads him to graft a metal spine and metal octopus-like arms onto his back. There is an explanation for this but it doesn't make much sense. Still, visually he is splendid and gets to climb tall buildings and fight with Spiderman as the arachnoid hero jumps from building to building trailing his superwebs.

Harry is back as the best friend and Peter Parker is still in love with MJ who is now a success. Her face is plastered on billboards all around the city while Peter is still getting fired from jobs. He lives in the city selling his pictures now and again but decides to take a break from the hero business. He becomes happier, succeeds as a student, relates to his loved ones and hangs out. It can't last. Peter's aunt is his conscious much as his uncle was in the first film. Peter realizes as he is talking to her that he must step up again and become the city's protector even if most of the inhabitants think he is a menace.

Peter is there when needed fighting Doc Ock. The man was an acquaintance of his before the doctor went bad. Peter is there in the end to help the man regain control of himself from the snake-like mechanoid arms that have taken control of the doctor's brain.

The conflict is still there between MJ and Peter. MJ has found an astronaut boyfriend and promises to marry him. Peter does not want to lose MJ but he is afraid she will come to harm. She does. Doc Ock realizing that Peter loves her captures MJ setting up a great action sequence. Peter and MJ still have time to work it out.

One of the things Raimi does in this film is play with the secret identity theme. One example of this is an action sequence in which Spiderman looses his mask as he is trying to stop a runaway subway car. All the passengers see his face but no one tells. For the first time Peter feels a sense that the people he saves appreciate and respect him. This is not the only incident of unmasking. MJ as well as Harry find out his secret identity. Though it is not stated directly one gets the sense that Peter's aunt too suspects his secret identity.

Stan Lee has a cameo performance in this film again. We also see two other familiar figures. One is the nerdy underling played by Ted Raimi, brother of the director. He is a part of the newspaper staff. The larger than life character who is its managing editor is J. Jonah Jameson, as hard-bitten as they get. He is played by J.K. Simmons. His performance is wonderfully funny. He and Ted Raimi make a great pair.

As usual, at the end good triumphs but harbingers of things to come are planted. Harry has spent this film hating Spiderman and when he discovers his identity and discovers the truth about his father's death he is left tormented. He discovers his father's cache of weapons.

The story line here is clear and linear. For an action film it is surprisingly focused on people's feelings especially on those of Peter. Peter is struggling with his sense of identity. Raimi elaborates on his ideas about this to some extent in the director's commentary.

The Spiderman two disc set has great extras. It has commentaries, a blooper reel, a music video, and an extensive documentary. Their are neat things like a trivia game. The film is already a classic. I even got used to that blue and red spandex costume.

Review by Garnet Brooks

This is the first of the Spiderman films. The DVD version is a two disc set with several special features. The film's stars are Toby Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Willem Dafoe, James Franco, Cliff Robertson and Rosemary Harris. The director is Sam Raimi. Raimi has directed or produced a number of Australian films including the Evil Dead films. There is a cameo performance by Stan Lee.

One of the difficult things about films which are based on comic books is that they either have dorky names or dorky costumes for their characters. The filmmakers here are able to come up with a plausible explanation of why Peter Parker has both. The idea is that he starts out his crime fighting career posing as a wrestler hence the name and costume.

Peter Parker is a nerdy high school senior when the film begins. He has been in love with his next door neighbor since they were in first grade but he has never told her his feelings. Mary Jane (MJ) just isn't paying attention. She has her own problems. From the yelling one infers that her father is emotionally abusive. Peter's family is a stable one. He lives with his aunt and uncle who are both kind and nurturing.

On a school trip Peter gets bitten by a genetically altered spider. In this film version it seems to have mutant spliced DNA instead of being radioactive. It is as garishly colored as Spiderman's spandex costume. The spider seems to have gotten loose from a cage and is the progeny of the bad guy of the film whose name is Norman Osborne. Once bitten Peter is briefly sick but wakes up with perfect vision and abs. He finds he exudes a few sticky tendrils in the lunch room one day. His new gift does not draw the right kind of attention though. A fellow student is angry and is all set to beat Peter up. To everyone's surprise Peter wipes the floor with the guy. It does not get him admiration though he just makes people nervous.

Peter has a good friend. Norman Osborne's son Harry is attending the school having gotten kicked out of all the private schools his father could find. Mr. Osborne likes Peter if it can be said he likes anyone. Peter, Harry, MJ, Peter's aunt and Norman Osborne sit down to dinner together at one point but the moment is spoiled by Osborne telling Harry that his girlfriend is a tramp and the best thing to do is to dump her.

The Osborne company is involved in some top secret defense department work. They seem to be testing both a performance enhancing drug and a small navigateable craft that flies with a pilot just standing on it. No surprise here that Norman Osborne decides to test both drug and craft and winds up a supervillian named the Green Goblin. He has a slick metallic suit complete with a helmet which has a permanent grimacing, fang-bearing appearance.

By the time Peter becomes a superhero things in his family are not going well. His uncle is out of work. Just after Peter gets his powers he decided to fight in a wrestling match. He tells his uncle he is going to the library. The concerned and protective man insists on picking him up at the library. This gets his uncle killed. Peter is a kind of innocent. That innocence is tarnished when his uncle dies at the hands of a robber, one that Peter let get away because he wanted to spite the man who stiffed him about the wrestling match.

The plot and conflicts work well. The biggest conflict in the film concerns the tension inside Peter between his sense of duty and his difficulties coping with life. He can never get everything done and is a mediocre student and fails to keep a job. He does not want to be a superhero. The second biggest conflict is about MJ. He loves her and she comes to have feeling for him also but he instinctively feels that having a relationship with her would put her in danger and maybe get her killed. After all, his uncle has just been murdered.

Toby Maguire is an odd choice for Spiderman. Instead of an alienated and slightly dark character we see wide-eyed innocence and apple pie wholesomeness. Somehow it works though. In his audio commentary director Sam Raimi says he chose to make the film about what a tough time Peter has coping with everyday life. This gives the film a realism and sense of groundedness. The film has good action scenes. The special effects which show Spiderman flitting from skyscraper to skyscraper are really well done. The DVD set has good extras especially the commentaries. This is not highbrow stuff but it is really good.

By Christina VanGinkel

Maybe because I am a fan of shows such as the X Files, or maybe partly because I am a mother, this show grabbed my attention from the start and held it until the final credits rolled. The Forgotten, starring Julianne Moore as Telly Paretta, Christopher Kovaleski as Sam, Gary Sinise as Telly's Psychiatrist, Dr. Jack Munce, and Dominic West as Ash, relates the story of a mother's memory with a somewhat alien twist.

Telly Paretta is the mother of nine year old Sam. When Sam is killed in a plane crash, Telly does not think life could get worse. Suddenly though, all the people in her life that are around her on a day to day basis, from her husband to her psychiatrist, are telling her that she is delusional. Sam never existed. She is told that yes, she was pregnant. However, she supposedly lost the baby, and her delusions of nine year old Sam are her way of coping with the loss. Telly knows he existed though and she has proof. She has two scrapbooks full of pictures, home videos, even a strip of photos that she and Sam had taken together in one of those quick style photo booths found from malls to amusement parks. Not to mention, there are newspaper accounts of the plane crash itself, with a grainy but recognizable picture of Sam as one of the young victims.

Then one day, Sam disappears from all the family's photographs, the scrapbooks are nothing more than blank pages, and the home videos are just static filled screens. Her husband tells her she is just reacting to the loss of the baby and her psychiatrist recommends that she be hospitalized. Fearful of being locked up, she races off heading to the library to look up the old newspaper clippings detailing the crash. When she realizes that even those are gone, she rushes out of the library.

In her troublesome state of mind, she remembers seeing Ash, the father of another young child by the name of Lauren that was on the same plane as Sam at the neighborhood park. She figures if anyone will believe her, he will. She recalls where he lives because she and Sam had given Lauren rides to various activities. Her recognition is right on and he is home, though a bit on the drunk side. Once sobered up, he insists he never had a daughter, let alone one by the name of Lauren. When Telly rips off the wallpaper in what she remembers as being Lauren's room to reveal walls of childlike drawing, and forces Ash to say his daughter's name aloud, he still does not recall her, or is not yet ready to believe it, and he calls the police. Before he knows it, the police arrive, but so do the feds who quickly take Telly into custody. In a raging rush of memories though, Ash suddenly remembers his daughter as memories flood his brain as fast as he can fit them in. Ash rushes down the apartment building steps to see Telly being taken away by the federal agents and a fight ensues. Telly gets away and rushes off, joined by Ash.

Together, Telly and Ash are in a race against forces whose origins they are quite unsure of. However, when they manage to tie up one of the federal agents and in the midst of questioning him, he is pulled right through a buildings roof into the depths of the sky, they are coming to understand that whatever it is that has taken their children from them, it is surely worse than anything they could ever have imagined. In addition, it does not seem to be of this world, as what else could erase the memories of so many along with the physical proof of each of their children's very existence.

Evidence leads them to a bankrupted airline, a man who is seemingly able to be everywhere, and who even after being run down by their vehicle simply walks away unscathed. Some of these events do not go unnoticed by the local police though, and a cop is unwittingly drawn into the drama as she attempts to help Telly.

The ending of this sci-fi thriller is filled with suspense, action, and will leave you wondering, questioning even, what each of us is here on earth for.

With Halloween here, it seemed the right time to review a favorite horror movie or two. Francis Ford Coppola's "Bram Stoker's Dracula" is an opulent and sensual visual treat that recounts perhaps the most infamous horror villain of all time: Count Dracula. Movies about Dracula (or other vampires) have seized the imagination of pop culture for decades, starting with the incredible, black and white "Nosferatu" (a movie deserving of another review... but in a nutshell, if you haven't seen it, you should).

Coppola offers a slightly different take on everyone's favorite Transylvanian Count by posing the question: if one completely changes the central motivation of the main character, can one still claim that the movie is a faithful interpretation of the original text? Judging by the comments of critics, the answer is yes.

Cast

Dracula - Gary Oldman
Mina Murray - Winona Rider
Dr. Abraham Van Helsing - Anthony Hopkins
Jonathan Harker- Keanu Reeves
Dr. Jack Seward - Richard E. Grant
Lord Arthur Holmwood - Cary Elwes
Quincey P. Morris - Billy Campbell
Lucy Westenra - Sadie Frost
Renfield - Tom Waits
Dracula's Brides - Monica Bellucci, Michaela Bercu, and Florina Kendrick

Bram Stoker wrote what is considered by many to be the greatest horror novel of all time. A reclusive, wealthy aristocrat longs for the active lifestyle found in Victorian London. He hires a reputed law firm to aid him in his transcontinental move. However, his first assigned assistant suffers serious problems that impair his mental prowess, so young Jonathon Harker is sent to be England's ambassador to Transylvania's Count Dracula. However, Dracula is more than the eccentric individual that he appears to be: Dracula is actually a monstrous vampire, capable of sustaining his immortal life by draining the blood from his victims. Harker too falls victim to the monster's manipulation and is imprisoned within Dracula's castle with his discarded, vampiric brides while the Count travels to England to begin a deadly body count that includes those closest to Harker.

Gary Oldman, who has made a career of playing strange characters, plays the reclusive Count Dracula with a thick, almost indistinguishable accent. Oldman seems best when he is misfigured and covered with make-up; he is one of the few actors who can manage to not be lost by so many layers of makeup and prosthetics.

The movie follows much of the novel's plot and even borrows from the novel's format. While the entire novel is comprised of a collection of fictional diary entries, the movie uses diary entries and voice overs to narrate the action. However, the singular difference between Stoker's work and Coppola's movie adaptation is the role of love. In the book, Dracula does seduce and attack Mina, Harker's eventual wife, but the movie constructs an elaborate back story that connects these characters in a romantic history involving reincarnation and immortal love that is absent in the novel. Mina (played by Winona Rider, sporting a rather poor British accent) is an exact replica of Dracula's dead wife Elisabeta (also played by Rider), a tragic figure who threw herself into the river when she believed Dracula lost in a battle. Suicides are barred from entering heaven. Dracula's transformation into a vampire, which is never really explained in the original text, is caused by the church's damnation of Dracula's wife's soul. Consequently, Dracula forsakes his faith and his violent outbursts displeases God so much that he is damned as a vampire.

Much of the movie surrounds Dracula's aim to regain the love of the woman he believes to be his reincarnated dead wife. However, the Count's wooing of Mina continues through the major portions of the novel, including his attack and transformation of Mina's best friend, Lucy, into a vampire, the neighboring Dr. Seward's insane asylum which houses Dracula's first, unfortunate solicitor, Renfield, and the eventual appearance of vampire hunter and eccentric, Dr. Van Helsing (played with campy goodness by Anthony Hopkins).

Hopkins and Oldman ground the cast: each seems to really enjoy his role, while the others, in stark contrast, seem almost too serious in comparison. Tom Waits plays a creepy Renfield, but this role is largely a distraction from the main storyline and he is dispatched with little fanfare.

The strength of the story is its visual appeal: the sets and costumes evoke a beautiful, repressed Victorian era with individuals who long to enjoy sensory delights. When it was first released, the movie managed a few memorable scares, including a very dark transformation involving a mountain of rats. The entire atmosphere is one of indulgence; it is a sultry harlequin romance injected into the creepy novel's more covert references to human sexuality.

This creative choice largely works. Dracula, who has become such an iconic pop culture figure, commands considerable power and empathy as a man still grieving his lost soul mate, and that creates an empathy for the character that helps draw the audience into the movie. However, that empathy changes the character fundamentally from his novel counterpart: the original Dracula was not a romantic lead, but a symbol for evil, and this movie throws such an interpretation out in favor of adding a hope for redemption. For purists faithful to the novel, the change represented too great a departure.

An interesting bit of Trivia - Distinctive thespian Anthony Hopkins plays more than just Van Helsing. Anthony Hopkins also plays the unnamed clergyman at the beginning of the movie. He explains that Elisabeta has committed suicide and, as a result, her soul is damned for eternity. Anthony Hopkins' voice is also used for the narrative of the captain of the doomed ship Demeter.

This is one of the most unlikely pairing I have seen in awhile. The pairing of movie bombshell Tom Cruise and, at the time, not so known Cuba Gooding Jr. It was proven that this unlikely pairing was one not too be reckoned with if you take into account the sales at the box office and the Academy Award win for the newcommer Gooding.

This movies starts how most movies end, with an emotional exodus of the lead characters in to the sunset, or in this case, out the office door. The offbeat directorial style found in the film should be the first indication that Cameron Crowe's movie is not the typical life story. At the outset of the story, top-of-his-game sports agent Jerry Maguire, played by Tom Cruise, suffers a pang of conscience that causes him to stay up all night and write an impromptu 25 page long rant entitled "The Things We Think and Do Not Say: The Future of Our Business." In the morning, after all is said and done and in a fit of rage, Jerry has this mission statement photocopied, bound, and distributed company-wide, eliminating all possibility of turning back. In this liberating manifesto, Jerry proposes that his agency eliminate the "business as usual" and refocus its efforts toward quality rather than quantity. This would place the firm's values in the people that it represents dollars that it makes for the people it represents.

Jerry's revelation is the kind of yuppie crisis of faith that other movies structurally build toward, the kind of page turning drama that signals a successful conclusion just around the bend and better days ahead. However, in Jerry McGuire, the bold act is only the beginning. Of course, Jerry's midnight rants and raves cause him to be fired within the next week, forcing him to confront the wisdom of his ideals. Only two other people flock to his camp when he leaves his company. Dorothy Boyd, played by Renee Zellweger, is an agency bookkeeper who defects with Jerry, and the aforementioned Rod Tidwell, a second-tier wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals, played by the Academy Award winner Cuba Gooding Jr. Jerry's crisis, however, is interesting because it does not really force him to question the root of what he does, only the manner in which the business is conducted.

Though the movie tries to display other perks of knowledge, this is the core of the entire movie. After being abruptly let got from his high profile sports agency position, Jerry is just as swiftly abandoned by his high-powered fiance, who is an un needed addition to the movie in my opinion. Once the Queen-B is out of the picture, is not long before Jerry and Dorothy are found to have been bitten by the love bug. In one instance, Dorothy declares her love for McGuire by saying that she loves him for not who he is but for being "the man he nearly is". Though we see that genuilly feels the same for her, he still has to learn the difference between loyalty and love. We have seen Cruise play this type of smooth operator before this movie. Handsomely clad with his signature thick locks, button-down yupster and a Cheshire grin.

What is fascinating is the depth of humanity Cruise finds within the character of Jerry and Cruise's generosity toward the other actors in this film. Showing a generosity that allows all the other performers to shine and create vivid and memorable characters. Cuba Gooding, Jr. practically steals the show as the professional football player with a mouth and attitude as big as his heart. As his proud and loving wife, played by Regina King, delivers an accurate portrait of a proud black woman and football spouse. The other then newcomer, Renee Zellweger takes to the screen like a true natural, and as her caustic yet loving sister, Bonnie Hunt winningly serves as the audience's eyes and ears. Captivating new kid star on the block Jonathan Lipnicki demonstrated the truth in the old show-biz adage about never working with dogs, children, or other natural scene stealers. Very much in keeping with Cameron Crowe's previous writing and directing projects Say Anything and Singles, Jerry McGuire is another sweet movie wrapped around an emotional core.

In 2005, a rare theatrical screening of the 1976 drive in hit GRIZZLY took place in Los Angeles. The film had been recently dumped on DVD for a no frills release and has recently been reissued in a 2 DVD special edition. In a way, GRIZZLY is the bad film that will never die!

Originally made thirty years ago, the film was in development as a studio production under the banner or Warner Bros. Films. However, there was an issue with the rights to the screenplay and the film was eventually made as an independent film. While most people assume that with the recent success of JAWS and the success of the JAWS rip-off film MAKO: JAWS OF DEATH, beasts on the loose rip offs of Spielberg's classic were cranked out regularly until the end of the 1970's.

GRIZZLY made money and it made more money than anyone ever imagined possible. Budgeted at under $900,000 GRIZZLY would go on to make $39 Million (!) dollars by the close of 1976. That would be around $150 Million in today's dollars when adjusted for inflation. (Imagine SAW if it cost 1/3 less than what it cost to produce and then made $50 million dollars more at the box office than it did and you get a reasonable comparison)

GRIZZLY was the highest grossing independent film of all time and held that rank until 1978 when HALLOWEEN would break its record. While HALLOWEEN is remembered as a classic today, GRIZZLY was simply dropped down a black hole and forgotten about. Sure, it is a really bad film, but there have been many really bad films that people still watch today. (Think of the FRIDAY THE 13th sequels)

Sadly, many huge Drive In hits have been forgotten about such as LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK ($28 Million in 1972), PRIVATE LESSONS ($20 Million in 1981) and many others. GRIZZLY has fallen into this unfortunate category. Yes, it is a silly bad film, but its financial accomplishments are nothing short of astounding.

GRIZZLY aired on ABC Network TV as a Movie of the Week in the early 1980's and then into syndication quickly thereafter. Upon watching the film today, you really have to shake your head that ABC aired this Drive In nonsense on their network no matter how much money it raked in. This is one of the goofier animals on the loose films to ever be made.

GRIZZLY is a scene for scene remake of JAWS where a Grizzly Bear (surprise) lays siege to a National Park (surprise) and the people running the park try to cover it up so as not to loose tourist revenue (surprise, surprise surprise!) Christopher George essays the role of the park ranger who believes that a Grizzly Bear is behind a rash of killings (despite the fact that Grizzly Bears became extinct in Georgia WAY before 1976) and Richard Jaeckal is the bear scientist who wants to capture the beast. (Good luck).

Oh, not to give away the ending, but the Park Rangers in this film own, for some reason, a BAZOOKA! Then again, the film was made during the Cold War era so the need for an anti-tank defense weapon may have been required. Ok, that is a stretch, but this whole film is a stretch to take serious.

GRIZZLY is not much of a fun film as it is pretty mean spirited and the bear attack scenes are incredibly violent. (The film originally was rated R, but cut to a PG rating before theatrical release) There is very little levity to this film except for the unintentional hilarity of some of the cheesy special effects and over the top scenes.

Christopher George looks really awful in this film. The one time star of THE RAT PATROL and the short lived, but excellent THE IMMORTAL saw his star fall greatly and he was doing guest star spots on LOVE BOAT and FANTASY ISLAND and appearing in low budget schlock such as PIECES, GATES OF HELL and the underrated THE EXTERMINATOR before passing away from a heart attack in 1984. In many ways, George was a highly underrated actor who should have been a major star. In a way, he did stay gainfully employed on TV for decades, but his cinema leading roles were virtually all low budget affairs.

Bottom Line: GRIZZLY is an ok diversion for rainy afternoon viewings.

Never, Never, Never in the history of the cinematic universe has there been a more abominable remake that the AWFUL CBS remake of the classic Stanley Kubrick horror opus THE SHINING (1980) than atrocious idiocy and utter embarrassment that was aborted onto the airwaves in 1997.

I remember seeing the original TV ads for THE SHINING back in 1980 and the insidious theme music playing over the haunting visual images of an unhinged Jack Nicholson stalking his son through the hedge maze was thoroughly and utterly terrifying. Apparently these images connected with audiences strong enough to pull in $50+ Million dollars at the box office and the film continues to find a new audience to this day.

This is not to even remotely try to insinuate that Kubrick's film is without any flaws. The film is very confusing in spots as it is never really clear how the telepathic Shining powers tie in with the insane father with the ghosts living in the Overbrook Hotel, etc. The film is mostly style or substance and suffers from the fact that it really needed to be a three hour film in order to tell a more coherent story.

Stephen King was not a fan of the film and likened it to a "big beautiful car with no engine." So, when King announced he would be writing a screenplay that would be a literal, direct adaptation of his novel as a TV miniseries, people were intrigued and titillated. Then King actually wrote the screenplay. And then the script was actually made. And, oh boy, was the audience shafted.

Ok. In the original novel Jack Torrance did not use an axe to butcher people, he used a croquette mallet. You would think that King would have understood that the axe was a good change and that no one would take a croquette mallet serious. In fact, when the mallet is used to beat people, instead of striking fear looks like a live action version of Quick Draw McGraw El Ka-bonging villains with his guitar.

This whole mini-series comes off like one of those perpetually awful Lifetime Television For Women snooze-fests that only 70 year old grandmas or people of all ages with child like minds seem to enjoy.

Steven Weber is a pretty weak replacement for Jack Nicholson to put it mildly. His portrayal of Jack Torrance changes him from the psychotic from the first film to someone with the demeanor of a tax accountant. Weber babbles about being a recovering alcoholic and his performance will turn the viewer into one. Rebecca De Mornay is equally pitiful and annoying and you will literally be hoping that the film ends with her getting hit over the head with the croquet mallet REALLY HARD. Mercifully, Melvin Van Peebles pops up now and then to steal the show, but his appearances are too brief and sporadic. (Why did he never become a huge star after the success of SWEET SWEETBACK in 1971?) And, oh, the ghosts. NEVR, EVER, EVER HAS THERE BEEN A LESS MENACING SET OF SPIRITS IN THE HISTORY OF THE ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS. They simply closer to guests who won't leave a party rather than evil entities.

And the kid really has to go. He's obnoxious and annoying and as much as I feel like requiting Paul Newman's famous observation of a woman's son in the film SLAPSHOT, since the lines Mr. Newman uttered were very R Rated, I'll skip them at this juncture.

Seriously, I wanted to beat everyone involved with this film up with a croquette mallet and then beat myself over the head with one as an act of self flagellation for actually watching this whole thing to the very end. Maybe it is because I was in denial that anyone could purposely make such a boring film and that something cool like Godzilla showing up and doing the rubber suit war dance on the hotel in the last half hour, but, alack, it was not to be and I lost over 180 minutes of my life and I will never get them back.

This is a horribly boring three hour waste of time that should be avoided by anyone who has friends.

NEGATIVE FIVE HUNDRED STARS - AN ALL TIME LOW!

By Simon Woodhouse

Hannah And Her Sisters is a Woody Allen film, and Woody Allen is one of those actors/directors/writers people seem to either love or hate. There's no middle ground. I love his work, and this movie is amongst his best, but if you don't like him it probably contains all the things that bug you.

As the title suggests, the movie tells the story of Hannah (Mia Farrow) and her two sisters, Holly (Dianne Wiest) and Lee (Barbara Hershey). The off spring of show business parents, the three women all live in New York and lead intertwined lives. Hannah, the most stable of the bunch, is a stay-at-home mom who's married to Elliot (Michael Caine), a successful financial adviser. Holly wants to follow in her parent's footsteps and break into showbiz, but her career path lacks direction, and constant rejections are taking their toll on her. The third sister, Lee, lives with temperamental Frederick (Max Von Sydow), an overbearing, intellectually superior painter who treats her more like a child than a partner. Other characters weave their way in and out of the story, the most notable of which being Woody Allen himself, playing the role of Mickey, Hannah's ex-husband.

Though there are several subplots, as you'd expect in a film revolving around three main characters, the central story involves Lee and an affair she has with Elliot, her sister's husband. Confused by her relationship with domineering Frederick, Lee nonetheless resists Elliot's attempts at seduction for as long as she can. However, when he makes a clumsy pass at her she caves in, and the affair begins. Running parallel to this plot is the story of Holly and her attempts to further her showbiz career. The acting is going nowhere though, so she borrows more money from Hannah and tries to set up a small catering company with her friend April (Carrie Fisher). The two women however, start to squabble over a man and Holly takes it badly. Yet another subplot involves Mickey. A neurotic, wimpy hypochondriac (a role Woody Allen has perfected over the years), the man's convinced he's dying of every ailment under the sun, but specifically a brain tumor. This is the funniest of the films multiple story threads, and at times is hilarious. Whether Allen saved the best lines for himself on purpose is hard to say, however he delivers a whole host of really funny one-liners with his trademark deadpan demeanor, and they rival anything he's done before or since.

The affair between Lee and Elliot isn't really meant to be humorous, and the fall out affects both of their relationships with their respective partners. It also casts Elliot as a hopelessly selfish character, someone who wants Lee but at the same time is afraid to leave Hannah. Holly continues to drift from one unsuccessful acting audition to the next, gets nowhere, and eventually decides she wants to try writing and so borrows even more money from Hannah. Though the most stable of the three, Hannah begins to crack as she senses Elliot is drifting away from her, feels pressure from Holly to be less judgmental, and can see how miserable Lee's affair is making her, even though she doesn't suspect it's with her own husband.

Though this all sounds like a bit of a soap opera, Allen's writing and directing never lets any of the characters wallow in too much self-pity. There are also plenty of little individual scenes featuring one off characters, that don't really have anything to do with the overall story, but provide the necessary humorous moments to make the bleaker elements seem less so. Chief amongst these are Frederick's argument about art with an aspiring rock star, and Mickey's disastrous date with Holly.

The various story elements come together at the end, and it's a happy finale. The sisters stay friends, find happiness with existing or new partners, and New York life moves on. Each of the three principle actresses perform admirably, but it's Dianne Wiest who really shines. Michael Caine is also excellent as the weak-willed Elliot, and both he and Wiest deserved their Oscars (best supporting actress and best supporting actor respectively). Allen plays the role of Mickey as if he's not really acting at all, and as mentioned earlier, steals the show when it comes to laughs.

Considering the movie is a product of one man's mind - Allen's, it's not too much of an exaggeration to call it a work of genius. The dialogue, whether light and witty or heavy and dramatic, flows as if it's not being performed at all. All of the principle players display subtle little character traits that make them seem all the more human. The story moves along at just the right pace, and considering there's so much going on, it feels neither rushed nor crowded. For those who don't like Woody Allen movies, there's probably nothing here to change the way you feel, but for anyone who appreciates what he does, or who's never watched any of his work, this is a must see. Ten out of ten.

It keeps getting better and better. We only have to wait a few more years, instead of a few decades, before we see another African American win the Academy Award for acting. This is when Monsters Ball is released. I have always loved Halle Berry, ever since the first time I saw her in the made for television movie, Queen, she has stolen my heart with both her looks and amazing acting abilities. The movie follows Hank Grotowski, played by Billy Bob Thorton, a widower, who works as a prison guard. Hank's son, Sonny, played by Heath Ledger, works with him at the prison. They both reside with Hank's ailing father, Buck, played by Peter Boyle who happens to be a racist who drove his own wife to suicide. Hank hates his father because of how Buck's hate has now become his own, in so far as how he treats Sonny as well as black members of his neighboring community.

Hank and Sonny help in the execution of Lawrence Musgrove, played by Sean "P.Diddy" Combs, the husband of Leticia, played by Halle Berry, who went on to receive the Academy Award for acting for her role. Leticia's son is shown to have taken on his father's murderous traits.
Sonny begins to vomit because he can not handle the realness of the execution while leading Lawrence to his execution and is berated by his father because of it. This is due to a number of things but we come to see that it is most because he does not want to show any respect for his son because he is so unable to cope with the reality of life as he knows it. Due to this lack of compassion, Sonny takes a gun to his father. The altercation leads Sonny staring at his father at gunpoint yelling to his father, "You hate me, don't you?" His father replies calmly, "Always did." Sonny responds, "Well, I always loved you," puts the barrel of the gun to his chest, and shoots himself. This is totally unexpected.

After his son's untimely demise, Hank quits his job at the detention center and burns his uniform unceremoniously in his backyard.

During Lawrence's imprisonment and since his execution, Leticia Musgrove has been struggling alone for several years to raise Tyrell, who has become morbidly obese. She drinks frequently and is unable to pay her bills, which leads to her receiving an eviction notice.

Moving on to another story, Leticia works at the coffee shop that Hank visits all the time. She works here after she is fired from her former job because of her tardiness. One night, Leticia and Tyrell are at the coffee shop and after her shift is over, leaves and walks home. Tyrell is hit by a car on the way home, and guess who stops to help.

Yep, you guessed it, Hank. Hank drives by and at first does not stop to help. After a few seconds of reconsideration, he helps her out. They go to the hospital, but Tyrell does not make it and for some reason, Hank takes Leticia home with him out of self pity, of all things. Here is where they form some sort of super natural connection that ends in them have one intense sex scene, one so unexpected that I had had to shut my eyes, only for a few seconds. Hank later finds out that Leticia is Lawrence's wife, but does not mention his connection to Lawrence.

Buck strongly disapproves of the affair, and Hank eventually stands up against his father by sending him to a nursing home. In a way, this is tantamount to pronouncing a death sentence on his father. At the end of the film, Hank and Leticia lean on one another on the back steps of Hank's home - after she finds out that he had assisted in her husband's execution. Looking up at the stars, he tells her "We're going to be all right."

I do not suggest this movie if you are faint of heart. The emotional depiction of forbidden love and shattered souls may take a beating on your own. And your own soul is something that you want to keep hold of for years and years to come.

Written and directed by Richard Shepard, nabbed Pierce Brosnan a Golden Globe nomination: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy. Also stars Greg Kinnear and Hope Davis, with a witty tagline: "A globetrotting hitman and a crestfallen businessman meet in a hotel bar in Mexico City in an encounter that draws them together in a way neither expected." How could this one miss (pun not intentional, but amusing nevertheless)?

I LOVE Pierce. His James Bond is second only to Sean in my book, and all around he's talented, sophisticated, witty and entertaining. In this flick, he's Julian Noble, an aging hit man tiring of the solitary life he's created for himself. Despite the fact that he's been nearly everywhere on the planet and bedded whomever he chose, he's turned into a miserable alcoholic hiding so many secrets and telling so many lies that he's no longer sure what IS true or if he wants to believe it anyway. He's got a quirky sense of humor, sort of like a 14 year old with a firearm...and though his joking is humorous, he's unable to make a real social connection with anyone. Sad, lonely, looking for love and companionship...killing his targets methodically along the way.

On a job in Mexico, he meets distraught businessman Danny Wright (Kinnear)...a fellow who's lost his only child and is taking his 'last shot' at making his career work. He's suffered so much, was unable to save his child from drowning at a party, and his life has become a gaping wound and he feels as if he's completely to blame. His wife, Carolyn, still loves him but the grief they share is overpowering their marriage.

Julian and Danny begin chatting it up in the hotel bar, and Julian decides he's going to make a genuine friend. Though Danny thinks he's a bit odd, he jumps in with both feet when his business deal collapses and the two head off to a bullfight where Julian confesses his true occupation for the very first time to another human being he intends to let walk away. They part amicably, Danny envious of Julian's freedom, Julian envious of Danny's lack thereof.

During the next several months, they live their separate lives, Danny beginning to do well financially, Julian slipping with every consecutive hit. He begins having panic attacks and botching jobs, putting his clients in jeopardy and risking his own death by continuing. He speaks with his 'boss', requesting that his next hit be his last...he's had enough and wants to retire and LIVE. What he isn't aware of is that no one in his business retires and lives. He's assigned one last job, and when he realizes he can't complete it and that he'll be taken out instead, he heads for the home of his only friend...Danny.

Danny and Carolyn welcome him into their home and they all have a lovely booze session...and Julian spills the beans and begs Danny to come with him to the racetrack on his last job to make sure he gets it right.

Gosh it sounds great, doesn't it? Interesting, great actors...alas, don't be fooled! The movie continues for another hour or so AFTER we reach the point in the plot with Danny and Julian at the racetrack. No, I'm not kidding. I began rolling my eyes when they first meet in the bar...it's not that Kinnear or Brosnan are bad actors...far from it...but the script is just terrible. Not a bit of it is believable, and yes, I realize that movies are makebelieve, but this is just too over the top to be even plausible. The characters are underdeveloped, and there's a huge hump in the story between Mexico and when Juilan turns up at Danny's. Again, not at all believable. Would anyone, no matter how nice, let a hit man they met in Mexico and knew for a few days enter their home and convince them to be an accessory to murder? Yes, there is a plot twist and we find out that there's a reason why Danny feels he MUST do this, but it isn't worth another hour of film.

I was SOOO disappointed...my time is precious, and this one must not have tested well so they tweaked it late in the game. It just lost me midway through...and I'd still say it's worth seeing just to get a glimpse of Pierce in his undies and cowboy boots, but make some popcorn so you have something to do when you're bored silly for the last bits.

I was in the mood for a light, romantic comedy the other night, so I decided to rent Intolerable Cruelty starring George Clooney and Catherine-Zeta Jones. Since the movie was three years old, I had already heard plenty about it and knew that the critics panned it. I also knew that it didn't do well at the box office, which, I admit, doesn't always mean that a movie is bad. Anyway, I just wanted to watch Clooney and Zeta-Jones do their thing on screen and have a few laughs along the way so I rented the DVD.

Clooney plays Miles Massey, a divorce attorney who has gotten very, very rich over the years from handling settlements for his wealthy clients. He has been at it so long that he doesn't even need to listen to testimony in court; he knows how the game is played and he knows which questions to ask. Since all Miles has ever seen are relationships that turn out bad, he is understandably a cynic and doesn't believe in true love.

One day he gets a new client named Rex Rexroth (Edward Hermann) who is being sued for divorce by his estranged wife Marilyn (Zeta-Jones). Marilyn had hired a private investigator who filmed Rex in the middle of an indiscretion, and now stood to gain half of everything that Rex owned. The problem for Marilyn was that Miles and his assistant Wrigley (Paul Adelstein) were able to uncover a witness who swears that Marilyn was looking for a dumb, rich husband that she could control for a while and then eventually divorce for a lot of money. On the strength of that testimony, Marilyn ends up with nothing.

As the film progresses, Miles and Marilyn keep crossing paths, and soon fall for each other. They both have friends that are old, scared, and alone, and neither of them wants to end up that way, so they decide to marry each other. However, there's a bit of a plot twist in there that I don't want to reveal, so I'll have to stop my recap right here.

I have to say that I was extremely disappointed in Intolerable Cruelty even though I didn't have high expectations when I sat down to watch it. The movie was written and directed by Ethan and Joel Coen, which should have thrown up a red flag for me. The Coen brothers are notorious for taking risks on their films, and sometimes those gambles pay off big time. But when the gambles fail, it usually results in a big pile of garbage. Unfortunately, Intolerable Cruelty is garbage.

The acting was truly over-the-top -- especially Clooney's character. I know this was intentional and was supposed to be slapstick-y or whatever, but it came off as incredibly bothersome and annoying. He wasn't funny in the least and made me want to quit watching. In fact, I was only able to get through this movie by viewing it in 20-minute segments because that was all I could handle in one sitting.

Surprisingly, the decision to make Clooney ham it up in this film was the only chance the Coen brothers took. The rest of the plot was rehashed bits and pieces that moviegoers have seen a thousand times over. There was really only one plot twist, and the character's motivation wasn't sufficiently established, so the twist didn't ring true at all. I just found myself asking "Why?" when the twist was revealed, when I'm sure the filmmakers wanted me to marvel at their cleverness.

So to sum up, Intolerable Cruelty is a romantic comedy that is neither romantic nor funny. Although Clooney and Zeta-Jones both looked great on the screen, they didn't have an ounce of chemistry together, which made most of the second half of the film unbelievable.

Geoffrey Rush, Billy Bob Thornton, and Cedric the Entertainer also have roles in Intolerable Cruelty, but are on the screen so seldom that it wasn't enough to save the movie.

This film will probably only be appreciated by the most hard-core fans of Ethan and Joel Coen. I don't have anything positive to say about Intolerable Cruelty, except that it (thankfully) doesn't have a long running time. Save yourself some money and rent something else!

I was one of the few people who enjoyed the 2003 Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake. Most horror aficionados blasted the film, but these were the same people who liked the horribly inferior Texas Chainsaw Massacre - Part 2 and the incredibly awful Texas Chainsaw Massacre -The Next Generation (aka Return to a Texas Chainsaw Massacre)

While the remake did have its flaws, Jessica Biel's performance made the film very worthwhile viewing and the book ending prologue and epilogue of the film provided some excellent cheap scares. And, of course, R. Lee Ermy was tremendous as the crazed Sheriff and stole the show. Budgeted at $9 million, the film did over $80 million at the box office. This was more money than all the original film and the three sequels did combined! And $50 million of that combination came from just the first film. (Note: Adjusting the rate of inflation, the 1974 Texas Chainsaw Massacre's box office receipts would have equaled $198,000,000.00 in 2003 dollars)

With the success of the 2003 film, it was obvious that a sequel would be undertaken. Well, in actuality, a prequel was commissioned to tell the whole story of the sick families origins. (This was also a novel way to skirt the issue of shoot a sequel with a one armed Leatherface as he lost a limb at the conclusion of the first film) The concept was interesting and was purported to involve the family running afoul of two Vietnam Vets Special Forces Vets made for interesting speculation. The end result turned out to be an abomination. Oh, and there is only one Vietnam Vet in the film and he isn't Rambo by any stretch of the imagination.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning is nothing more than an exercise in sadism and violence. If one looks at the various killings and carnage, one will notice some seriously choppy editing. The reason for this is that extensive cuts were made throughout the film to avoid an NC-17 rating. It does, however, perform the highly difficult task of making sadism and violence into a very, very boring affair. There is nothing here you haven't seen before.

This film is not really about anything at all. What it is, is a mish mash of quasi-motivations to explain why people do what they do. The evil Sheriff went crazy during the Korean War. Leatherface lost his mind when the local slaughterhouse went out of business. One of the male kids is a Vietnam Vet returning to combat action. The other bad guys simply go along with the killing because, well, ummm, because! (Even the next door neighbor is ok with the cannibalism and killing for no apparent reason! The other male kid is the vet's brother who has been drafted and is planning on fleeing to Mexico to avoid heading out to Southeast Asia.

And then all these themes are dropped almost as quickly as they are introduced. There is no follow up to the themes nor do the themes continue through the film, changing and reacting with the situations in order to heighten drama and provide irony. They are simply presented as a vehicle for the dialogue between the characters to rise above chit chat. Since this film has NO plot, there is no other way to have any type of meaningful dialogue without adding these gimmicky elements. Then again, the dialogue devolves into yelling and screaming almost immediately.

It is really shocking that the producers and studios are so lazy that they crank out such an uninspired film that is really nothing more than a by the numbers slasher film that has been remade one hundred billion times since PSYCHO was first released in 1962. Considering that THREE YEARS have passed since the release of the first film, it is mind boggling that literally no time was spent putting an iota of thought into this film.

Then again, the brilliant writer David J. Schow was contracted to write the script, but when you watch the credits, he only gets a story credit and not screenwriting credit. In other words, whatever he brought to the table was probably written out.

We horror fans are a masochistic lot of people. Why he continually waste money and put ourselves through the misery of watching films like this is a mystery to us all.

The question that one has to ask is when was the last time you saw a movie featuring members of the Coast Guard? Not the Navy mind you, or the Air Force, the Army or the Marines - the U.S. Coast Guard!

Somehow I cannot think of John Wayne having ever played a member of the Coast Guard.

The latest film featuring Ashton Kutcher and Kevin Costner is that rarity, a story of the men of the Coast guard. Kutcher portrays a troubled young man who enlists in the Coast Guard and Costner the hard-nosed, veteran rescuer who takes the newest enlistee under his tutelage.

The film graphically brings to the big screen the extraordinary physical training regiment that Coast Guard rescue team members undergo in preparation for their difficult roles. After seeing their training regiment, is easy to see why these folks are seen as an elite group of physical and mental prowess.

Kutcher plays the young and cocky Jake Fischer, opposite Costner’s tough-minded Ben Randall. The movie is an action thriller, combining lots of suspense with just the right feel of realism. Throw in a number of wondrous one liners that ripple with sarcasm and you have just the right mix of tension and humor. Kutcher and Costner handle their roles superbly and a fine ensemble cast of actors gives the movie many real people. Add some top notch cinematography to the mix and you have a movie that should appeal to young men without the blatant and mind-numbing violence that is featured in most Hollywood productions to day.

At two hours and fifteen minutes the film is just a tad long. Directed by Andrew Davis, many may also find that the ending goes a bit overboard on heroics with some loss of realism in the process. But all in all, it is worth the price of admission.

The movie, from Buena Vista Pictures, is rated PG-13.

Does your support of a cause change if you like or dislike the face that cause? That is the question posed by Thank You for Smoking. It is the story of The Sultan of Spin, Nick Naylor. Nick is the public face of Big Tobacco. He goes on talk shows to meet with cancer victims; he debates Congressmen; he provides the press with snappy sound-bites about free choice and challenging authority. You are ready to dislike him-which is surely what the directors want you to feel. He is played by Aaron Eckhart and is cute, but kind of in a slick, car saleman-y way. You just don't want to like him. But you just can't help it and that is the theme of the movie.

Nick ends up coming off as a social rebel. You start to root for him. He admits that not everyone has the flexible morality to do his job. So he is not only representing what has come to be known as an evil force in society today, but he admits to a certain moral ambiguity about it. In one scene, he goes to career day at his son's school and ends up encouraging them to figure out if cigarettes are addictive for themselves and in another scene he confesses that if he can get one teen to talk up smoking he pays for his flights. He is unbelievable and a bit scummy; but yet, incredibly, you still end up liking him.

The story uses his son to teach us to like Nick, but it is an entirely unnecessary device. His son, Joey, played by Cameron Bright, is a flat character and primarily serves as a sounding board for Nick. Through discussions with his son, we learn how Nick justifies his job and what his true feelings are about being a lobbyist. We also learn that Nick wants to be a good dad, and although there is some minor animosity between Nick and his wife, played by Kim Dickens, it is not the focus of the story, and it is largely unconvincing. Nick doesn't seem to have a bad relationship with his son at all. They very close, and Joey never actively doubts his dad's character or reasons. He seems really caught up in the spin. I think that is where the director failed. This movie did not need the son at all. I really think that Nick is likable. We don't want to like him, but like the Cancer Boy that shakes his hand on the Joan show, we really can't help it.

Nick's nemesis is the Vermont senator, Ortolan Finistirre, played by William H. Macy. Macy's character is dramatically unlikable, despite his socially acceptable crusade against smoking. Even the most avid anti-smoking crusader could not like the Senator. The movie is not subtle about stacking the deck against him. He employs a weasel-y aide who stutters his way through his interaction with Nick on the Joan show, he wears sandals with socks, and he typically has a giant slice of Vermont cheddar cheese in the background. We just don't like him. We can't.

This is the most interesting question Thank You for Smoking poses: Does our support of a cause change if we like or dislike its representative? I don't smoke and would typically come down staunchly against smoking and the tobacco companies; but yet, I found myself rooting for Nick, and in essence, rooting against the Senator's absurd poison label anti-smoking campaign. The movie also employs some great little side features like little signs coming in over characters' heads or comments at the bottom of the screen. They don't overwhelm the movie; they just enhance the story's content in charming and creative ways. There are also a few nice artistic touches in the movie that really add to its merit. The offices of Big Tobacco, while luxurious, are decorated in nicotine brown. There are even a few scenes that seem to be filtered through a pale brown haze. Interestingly, none of the characters smoke. You never see Nick light up a cigarette, even though he professes to be a smoker. This is perhaps the most ironic way the movie ensures we like him. As Thank You for Smoking points out, smokers are not good guys in movies and this movie holds tightly to that concept. In their quest to ensure we like Nick, they would never sabotage that effort by letting him smoke. It crossed my mind at one point that this could be a movie financed by the current tobacco companies-kind of a force-us-to-like-their-rep movie, but the simple fact that he never lights up negates this possibility.

A lot happens in Thank You for Smoking that will keep you watching (Nick gets kidnapped by anti-smoking activists, has crazy sex with a reporter played by Katie Holmes, gets fired, etc.). Robert Duvall puts in a very convincing performance as the last of the Big Tobacco barons, complete with mint juleps and the hazy brown old boys club, and the trio of the MOD (Merchants of Death) Squad add some comedic depth to the story, but the ultimate confrontation with the Senator during the congressional hearing about tobacco seems to defeat the premise of the movie. Nicks appearance is a big win for Big Tobacco, but then, as if to satisfy our need to like him and still like ourselves in the morning, he leaves Big Tobacco to work for the cell phone companies. The most interesting question posed by Thank You for Smoking, Do we support causes because we like the people leading them?, is negated by Nick's move away from Big Tobacco.

Thank You for Smoking was a wholly entertaining movie with a rich, interesting lead character, some charming supporting characters, and a good story that poses a terrific question. It should have just allowed us to wake up in the morning feeling a little dirty for liking Nick so much.

By Simon Woodhouse

Dark City and The Matrix arrived in cinemas at round about a similar sort of time. Though both movies told essentially the same story, one was an example of gung-ho machismo laced with nonsense talk, whilst the other concerned itself with characters, atmosphere and a real sense of foreboding. Dark City is the latter, and it might have been totally eclipsed by The Matrix, but of the two films, it bears up to repeated viewings much better.

Set in a timeless environment that appears very much like 30s New York, but at the same time has a distinctly modern feel, the film begins with John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) waking up in a state of amnesia. He's naked in a bath of water, and there's a blood-covered knife in his hand. The phone rings, and a panicky voice at the other end introduces itself as Dr. Schreber (Kiefer Sutherland). Following the doctor's advice, John runs just as the sinister Strangers arrive at the apartment door. Meanwhile, a grisly series of murders are taking place in the city, with the most recent being linked to John. Investigator Bumstead (William Hurt) is assigned to the case, but he's having a hard time piecing the clues together.

On the run from the law, John crosses paths with the Strangers again. But he escapes by 'tuning', an ability that allows him to alter his surroundings by the power of thought. At the same time as he's on the run, his wife Emma (Jennifer Connelly), lodges a missing persons report with the police and meets Inspector Bumstead. As all these scenes play out we learn the city is run by the Strangers, who put everyone to sleep at midnight, change the landscape by 'tuning', give selected members of the populace new identities and memories, and then wake everyone up again. This makes the city one huge experiment run so the Strangers can understand the human soul. Their power to make everyone sleep, however, doesn't affect John, so he sees what they can do even though he doesn't know why they're doing it.

Set in a perpetual night time, the movie has a dark, noir feel about it, an effect that's only added to by the 30s styling. The Strangers, with their monotone voices, bald scalps and pale complexions, address each other by names like Mr Hand and Mr Book, and ooze malevolence. They're the sort of characters whose wickedness doesn't need to be shown in order for it to be appreciated. Playing some more on the 30s noir theme, the plot evolves into a mystery that John must solve. Clues are difficult to find though, as the Strangers are controlling everyone's memories.

As the movie progresses, John learns to control his 'tuning' ability, and this leads to some pretty neat confrontations with the Strangers. What makes these beings all the more threatening is the fact they don't use guns, or bombs, or helicopter gunships. It's all 'hands on' with them, knifes being their weapon of choice.

Aided by Dr Schreber, John begins to realize the city is part of a huge experiment. The focus of his search becomes Shell Beach, a place everyone knows, but no one can give him directions to because their thoughts are being so manipulated by the Strangers. Eventually John finds his way beneath the city, into the realm where the Strangers keep the machine that controls time. This is the scene of the final confrontation, and it's where John and the Strangers slug it out with their 'tuning' abilities. What makes this conflict stand out from those in other movies of the same type, is the lack of guns and weapons of that sort. The two adversaries are fighting with their 'minds', and not using kung-fu, samurai swords or ridiculously large hand guns.

Rufus Sewell disappeared off the radar after this film, which is a shame, because he turns in a really good performance. On the other hand, Jennifer Connelly's star was in the ascendant, and she went on to win an Oscar for her role in A Beautiful Mind. John Hurt (always very watch-able) doesn't let himself down here, and neither does Richard O'Brien as the creepy Mr Hand.

A stand-alone movie that inspired no sequels, Dark City isn't buried beneath the weight of disappointing follow-ups as The Matrix was. There are no overly long death scenes, or fight sequences that just go on and on. Though classified as Sci-Fi, the movie is both reminiscent of detective stories and horror films. But those different genres sit well together when they're delivered in such a stylish way as Dark City.

From the minds of the fabulous Coen brothers, Ethan & Joel, comes one of the most interesting and entertaining movies you'll ever have the pleasure of viewing...a case of mistaken identity with an investegatory plotline, kidnapping, ransom, league bowling and trippy dream sequences. Yes, I'm serious. No, I have not been using illegal substances all day long. They gave us Fargo. And this one is even BETTER!

Our main character is Jeffrey Lebowski (played by Jeff Bridges), a hippie leftover known by his compadres as simply 'The Dude'. The movie opens with him at a local supermarket, dressed in sloppy boxer shorts, a dirty V-neck T-shirt, a tunic sweater and jelly shoes (I've read that these shoes ACTUALLY BELONG to Jeff Bridges)...he's drinking some half and half from a container, and proceeds to pay for it by writing a check for $.69. Why the half and half? For his favorite drink, the White Russian. When he arrives home, he's accosted by a Chinaman and a blonde surfer/bodybuilder dude who give him a massive swirlie, spill his half and half, and ask him where the money is. They quickly realize they must have the wrong Jeffrey Lebowski ('Woo, isn't this guy supposed to be a millionaire?') and depart the scene, Woo peeing on The Dude's oriental rug as a final goodbye.

The Dude shares his story with friends Walter (John Goodman) and Donnie (Steve Buscemi) and decides to find the OTHER Jeffrey Lebowski to receive reparations for his rug. He is successful in his venture to the point of FINDING Mr. Lebowski, who then chastises him for being jobless and a loser and looking for a handout...but when Mr. Lebowski's trophy wife Bunny (she offers to suck off The Dude for a thousand dollars) is kidnapped he's forced to seek The Dude's help to ensure her safe return.

Jeff Bridges is at his finest in this flick...if you view the 'making of' you'll be shocked to see him all 'Duded' up but out of character...it's downright creepy. He portrays a man hanging on to values and beliefs an entire generation left behind long, long ago...still smoking up every day, behind on his rent, no job, no money...but not a worry in the world. His life has a peaceful, solitary serenity that we all crave on some level and the entire plot revolves around how this peace becomes disrupted and how he attempts to deal with it.

Walter Sobchak is personally my favorite character, however...each day when I become frustrated with life I find myself becoming more and more like him. He's a Vietnam vet with a steady income and ex-wife, struggling to make sense of what the world has become and trying to control himself in the face of idiocy. One great scene...Walter, The Dude and Donnie are playing a league match and a fellow on the opposing side (Smoky) slips a toe over the line. Walter insists that the frame be marked ZERO, and he and Smoky argue until Walter pulls his pistol, stands up and screams 'Doesn't anybody give a shit about the RULES????!?', points the gun at Smoky, clicks, and says calmly 'Mark it ZERO.'

Buscemi is great as Donnie, the sort of irritating guy you let tag along so you can bust his balls, though you'd miss him if he was gone. He is forever not making sense and interrupting conversations...Walter says 'Shut the fuck UP, Donnie' more times than I can count.

Philip Seymour Hoffman plays Brandt, Mr. Lebowski's right hand man...not a huge role but he's entertaining nonetheless.

Tara Reid is Bunny Lebowski, which I feel is some excellent foreshadowing by the brothers Coen. I'm just waiting to see the pictures of her and the old guy she chooses...

Julianne Moore is Maude Lebowski, Mr. Lebowski's adult daughter (older than his new wife, of course)...she's an 'artist' and paints in the nude hanging from the ceiling on a track system. Her interest in The Dude is purely physical...she decides that he will be the biological father of her first child, though he isn't aware of his impending duties.

If for no other reason, you MUST rent this one to see John Turturro's performance...he's Jesus Quintana, bowler on an opposing league team. And a pedophile. His bowling ensemble is entirely purple, including his hairnet. His ball, pink. Before he rolls, he gives it a little tongue action and proceeds to dance around to a Mexicanized version of Hotel California. Hilarious.

The Coen brothers wrote this one together, Joel directed. The scenes are so beautifully shot it's unreal...I mean, bowling, beautiful...that takes TALENT. Characters are well developed, story is entertaining. What more can you ask for? Go get it!

This movie blew my mind! Not only was I excited to see yet another phenomenal performance from Denzel Washington, I was also ecstatic to see Denzel play the role of a sinister character. In his roles as Malcolm X, and his award winning role in Glory were the closet that I saw him come to being a bad person. In this movie, his heart is again in the correct place, but the way that he goes about showing it is to be desired.

Not only does the movie take place in one of my favorite cities, it also takes you through a day in the life of a police office in Los Angeles. The cop, Jake Hoyt, who is played by Ethan Hawke, is trying to get on an elite crime fighting task force captained by Alonzo Harris, played by Denzel Washington. Harris is a narcotics officer and is highly decorated.

From the beginning of the movie, we see that Jakes 'straight as an arrow' Robin hood act is not in agreement with Harris' way of thinking. Harris is more the type of man who lives by the code of the streets rather than the word of law. This is apparent when Harris and Hoyt stop a car loaded with white college students. Instead of arresting them and giving them a ticket, Harris confiscates the weed that the students have and instead of turning it in, he persuades Hoyt to smoke the weed that just has been confiscated. The real kicker is that the weed is laced with another narcotic, PCP, and Harris writes this of as a right of passage, saying that a real narcotics officer has to know how the drug tastes and feels in order to obtain the desired results. Though Hoyt puts up a valiant effort in order to not try the PCP laced weed, he is threatened by Harris with a gun to his temple. This, coupled with the fact that he really wants to prove himself to the officer makes him give in to temptation and peer pressure and takes a hit of the weed.

Once high off the PCP laced weed, Harris escorts Hoyt to the home of a known drug dealer, Roger, played by Scott Glenn. Roger and Harris attended high school together and have formed a close bond over the years since graduation. During this visit, Hoyt notices a female high school student being raped in an alley. Hoyt reacts and stops the two from getting what they were looking for. All this while Harris just watches until he steps in and tells the girl to go straight home and instead of arresting the men who provoked the attack, he proceeds to intimidate them and finishes them off by pistil whipping one of the men in the testicles. Harris confiscates the crack that he finds on them. Hoyt finds the girls wallet and sticks it in his pocket.

As the remainder of the day shoots along, Harris shows Hoyt more and more of his dirty deeds and drags him further and further into the world of corruption. The movie shows Harris harassing a known drug dealer named Blue, played by Snoop Dogg. From Blue, Harris obtains information about a larger, more popular dealer named Sandman. Going to Sandman's home and searching it without a warrant, while Sandman's wife, played by Macy Gray, is still in the house. Not finding anything worth while, Harris takes Hoyt to The Jungles to meet Harris' hot Latino girlfriend and his son.

When Alonzo meets with three high-ranking police officers, Stan Gursky, Doug Rosselli, and Lou Jacobs, otherwise known as the "Three Wise men," After the meeting, it is clear from their conversation that Harris has bigger problems than breaking in a new rookie.

The movie cumulates when Harris is driving around the LAX airport area when hooded men from the Russian mafia who open fire on his car, kill him, and surround him. The movie ends with Hoyt pulling into his driveway and going home to his family, while a radio broadcast tells of Harris' death, reporting it as occurring 'in the line of duty' during the drug raid earlier that day.
Denzel Washington went on to win an Academy Award for acting for his role in the film.

Mike Judge is a genius. Need I say more? Oh, right...it's a review so I do. Trust me though, the man is brilliant. He gave us Beavis and Butthead, after all. Folks, if you haven't seen this one, get yourself on over to Blockbuster or add it to your Netflix queue right NOW. No matter what type of job you've done, no matter how long ago, this will have you laughing yourself silly. It's one of my all time favorites...I've seen it at least 50 times and it never gets old. And yes, I know nearly all the lines by heart and can quote at random when the situation allows.

The IMDB lists the plotline as 'Comedic tale of company workers who hate their jobs and decide to rebel against their greedy boss'...and it is that, but so much MORE!

The core character is Peter Gibbons, wonderfully played by Ron Livingston. He's employed as a programmer at Innitech, updating bank software code for the '2000' switch day after day after day, listening to coworker Nina repeating continuously in her high pitched voice 'Corporate accounts payable, Nina speaking...' His irritating girlfriend Anne may be cheating on him. He lives in an apartment with walls so thin he's on very intimate terms with his neighbor, Lawrence. His life is nothing like he expected it would be, and he feels like each consecutive day is the worst day of his life.

Enter Anne's hypnotherapist. He hypnotizes Peter but dies of a massive heart attack before completing the process, leaving Peter in an artificial state of blissful apathy toward all things causing his misery. As a result, he fails to turn up for work (on a Saturday...argh!) and instead sleeps the day away. He bravely marches into a local restaurant and asks a waitress, Joanna, out...he's admired her for some time, but lacked inspiration and courage before his session to make a move. In one of my very favorite scenes, Peter and Joanna are at lunch (the restaurant next door to where she works) and she asks him what he does, and he tells her. He follows this with 'I don't like my...job..and I don't think I'm going to...go...anymore'.

Back at the office, Peter's coworkers Michael Bolton and Samir Nagheenanajar, along with the rest of the employees, face being terminated by the 'efficiency experts' that have been brought in to clean house. Peter faces the experts with bluntness that they think is refreshing, and instead of being fired for slacking he gets promoted while Michael and Samir are canned. Together, they hatch a plan to slowly steal miniscule amounts company funds over time in order to earn enough for the three of them so they never have to work again. Of course, their plan backfires and hilarity ensues.

I won't ruin it any further for you, but I will point out that Peter's boss, Bill Lumbergh (Gary Cole) is the epitome of every evil boss I've ever had. His best line? When he finds fault with something the efficiency experts (Tom & Tom) mention, he interjects "Um, I'm going to have to go ahead and sort of disagree with you there."

Milton Waddams (Stephen Root) is the office scapegoat, his desk being moved from place to place until he winds up in the basement...he was actually let go years back but because of a 'payroll glitch' has been getting paid the entire time...and the Toms decide to 'fix the glitch' and let things work themselves out. His constant muttering reminds me of myself, I'm frightened to admit.

Filled with so many situations anyone who has ever had the displeasure of being employed by someone has encountered, this movie is a rare treasure that will force you to THINK as well as laugh. If you hate your job and your boss is an asshole does it make it okay for you to steal from him/her? Does what you do make you who you are? Is money so important that you should sacrifice your life, your love and your soul to obtain it?

Only you can answer those types of questions, folks...and in the meantime, go pick this one up and share it with your coworkers. And sneak out a printer you hate, head for a deserted field, crank up 'Die Muthaf*cka die', and bash the hell out of it with a baseball bat. It WILL make you feel better. Seriously.

By Christina VanGinkel

Computer animation is nothing new, but it is fun to watch, and that might be just the reason shows such as this keep hitting the theaters. Over the Hedge is an animated show that combines a variety of input that ultimately comes together to create an entertaining to watch family / adventure / comedy show. It is one of the newest to take a cast of well known's and incorporate their voices with the computer animation for a mixture that is enjoyable for all ages. Rated PG because of some mild comic action and what the critics call rude humor, my husband and I had no issues with bringing our young grandson to the movie theater to watch it. At three years old, he might have been a bit too young to understand some of the rude humor anyhow, but there was still plenty to keep him interested and giggling throughout. We ended up sitting in a nearly empty theater, going to see it when it was on its last days at our local Cinema that hosts eight shows simultaneously. Of those people in the cinema though, the ages ranged from young to old. We had a blast, and I plan to pick up the DVD later this week when it is released.

As to the people behind the voices, the cast of characters includes such well known's as Bruce Willis as RJ, Garry Shandling as Verne, Steve Carell as Hammy, Wanda Sykes as Stella, William Shatner as Ozzie, and Nick Nolte as Vincent, amongst many others. The way these actors portrayed the characters through voice is amazing, and if you have a favorite amongst them, that is reason enough to head out to watch this movie.

The story opens when RJ, a somewhat scheming raccoon, is threatened by the likes of one very angry bear, which he happens to owe a whole wagonload of goods. In order to accomplish this goal, he cons a group of misfit forest creatures into helping him gather up all that he needs, stealing it from a sub division of humans that happen to have built right up to there ever increasingly smaller woodland home. What ensue are some tender moments, mostly shadowed over by lots of laughter.

The basis of the story is simple enough, and that might be why I liked the show as much as I did. There is nothing difficult to figure out, with a plot that can be followed by young and old alike, with plenty of humor along the way. I especially enjoyed the addition of such characters as the Verminator, otherwise known to the average human as an exterminator. To see his tools and traps backfire on the one woman, the president of the Homeowners Association no less, who so vehemently calls them into action is sure to bring a smile to every animal lover alive, and even to those who believe humans really do rule over animals, simply because of the humorous way the scenes are portrayed. With the way the show portrays most humans as gas guzzling SUV drivers and suburbia living gluttons, some might disagree, but if you have even a bit of a sense of humor, you will see the fun in the portrayal more so than the negatives. Even my husband who actually enjoys a whitetail hunt as much as some people might like hitting the tennis courts, found no ill will in the show, just a view from the other side of the proverbial fence, as he so eloquently put it.

I a greatly enjoyed the way the creators of the show saw fit to bring in a bit of humor from some other well known shows, such as the scene where mild mannered Hammy downs a caffeine laden drink and suddenly springs into a scene where all is in slow motion save for fast acting Hammy powered on by the caffeine. I overheard someone compare it to a scene from the Matrix, but it reminded me of the action you commonly see in some of the older Hong Kong action flicks. If you are in the mood for a fun, fast action animated show; I highly recommend you pick up a copy of Over the Hedge when it comes out alter this week!

Rating: * * * * (out of 5)

Tom McCarthy's The Station Agent is a story about a loner, rather than a story about a dwarf. It is about loneliness, rather than about being different.

Finbar McBride (played by Peter Dinklage) is a train enthusiast who works in a model train shop. He tries to mind his own business, even though he attracts strange looks and sometimes insensitive comments from others. Fin is a lonely person, but he would never admit it. One day, upon his co-worker's death, Fin finds that he has inherited a train depot in New Jersey. He moves in to the property, determines to live a life of solitude. The life Fin envisions does not last long, as his gregarious neighbor, Joe Oramas (played by Bobby Cannavale), seems intent on being his friend. Their personalities cannot be more disparate. Joe, a Cuban who runs a hotdog stand right next to Fin's train depot, cannot stand of a moment of not talking, while Fin generally just gives one word answers. There is one funny scene where Fin reluctantly agrees to read with Joe as long as Joe does not talk to him: ''You said you weren't going to talk to me, Joe.'' ''It's been, like, 20 minutes.'' ''Nine.'' ''You timed me?'' ''Yup.'' ''That's cold, bro.''

Another of Fin's neighbors, Olivia (Patricia Clarkson), a divorced artist, also takes a liking to her new taciturn neighbor. They meet when Olivia almost runs Fin over, twice. Since then, she tries everything to make up for it. Gradually, we sense that the reason why both Joe and Olivia try so hard to be friends with Fin has more to do with their own loneliness than with Fin's.

Fin meets other people in the small town. He meets a pretty librarian, Emily (Michelle Williams), who screams when she first sees Fin, and feels bad about it ever since. Her boyfriend is one of those people who gives someone like Fin a hard time simply because of how he looks. A little black girl, Cleo (Raven Goodwin), follows Fin around because she is curious about him. It becomes clear pretty soon that these people are all misfits in one way or another. In face, Fin might be the most together person of them all.

His height is not an issue for those who look past it. There is a moment early in the film when Joe asks Fin, "So, do you people have a club or something?" Both Fin and Olivia, and I suspect, the audience, think that Joe is referring to a club for dwarfs. When we discover that Joe is actually referring to club for train enthusiasts, it is also a reminder for us to think of Fin as any other person, and not be obsessed with his height.

What is so refreshing about The Station Agent is that Fin is portrayed as a romantic lead. McCarthy does a good job of not take the obvious route to make the viewers feel overly sympathetic towards Fin based on his appearance. Although one scene, when Fin gets drunk in a bar and tells everyone to take a good look at him, does come close to stepping over that fine line.

The Station Agent is a quiet film with quiet performances. McCarthy takes his time to tell the story. While we watch the people on screen just talking, and just hanging out, we learn about them just as they learn about each other. There are some funny moments, and I am glad McCarthy did not play them simply for laughs, because ultimately it is about the sadness of the characters.

Written and directed by Tom McCarthy; director of photography, Oliver Bokelberg; edited by Tom McArdle; music by Stephen Trask; production designer, John Paino; produced by Mary Jane Skalski, Robert May and Kathryn Tucker; released by Miramax Films.
WITH: Peter Dinklage (Finbar McBride), Patricia Clarkson (Olivia Harris), Bobby Cannavale (Joe Oramas), Raven Goodwin (Cleo), Paul Benjamin (Henry Styles) and Michelle Williams (Emily).

MPAA: Rated R for language and some drug content.
Runtime: 88 min / USA:89 min (Encore print)
Year of release: 2003

Awards:
2003 Sundance Film Festival: Audience Award: Drama
2004 Independent Spirit Awards: Best Male Lead nominee: Peter Dinklage


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Rating: * * * * (out of 5)

This film was recommended to me by one of my film professors. We were talking about contemporary British directors as a classmate of mine is interested doing his thesis on the subject. I must admit that I couldn't think of too many distinctive British directors that still work in England. Michael Winterbottom is certainly one of the few. The name Pawel Pawlikowski came up in our discussion. Even though Pawlikowski is born in Poland, he was educated in England and works in England, so I guess that counts.

My Summer of Love is a bittersweet love story between two very different teenage girls in a Yorkshire town one summer. Mona (Natalie Press) is poor, as her working class accent tells us immediately; and Tamsin (Emily Blunt) is rich. Mona lives above a bar with her recovering alcoholic brother, who is now a born again Christian after getting out of prison; Tamsin lives in a mansion with her parents, who we later learn often neglect her. They are both bored although for different reasons.

Reminiscent of the 1994 Peter Jackson film, Heavenly Creatures, which starred Kate Winslet, Pawlikowski's My Summer of Love, however, treats the "love" and sexuality between the girls with much less sentimentality.

One day, while just passing time on the grass, Mona sees a vision of a woman on a horse. It turns out to be the enigmatic Tamsin. The two girls start spending time together and develop a mutual attraction. At home, Mona makes no attempt to hide her disdain for her brother religious conversion. She wants her old brother back. Tamsin, on the other hand, has no authority figure at home. She is well-educated, but spoiled. When Mona is invited into Tamsin's world, she knows that is her only escape. The two girls need each other. In fact, they soon realize that they are made for each other. While this is going on, Mona's brother, Phil (Paddy Considine) is on a mission to save her. The girls' relationship turns out to be not as it seems in the beginning, and so is Phil's relationship with his religion.

Not much in terms of plot happens in My Summer of Love. The story is quite simple. However, the film is filled with mood and suggestions. Director of photography, Ryszaed Lenzewski, captured the summer sun perfectly, and Pawlikowski used it beautifully in many scenes to add a sense of laziness to the mood and a sense of intimacy to the characters.

Not only is Pawlikowski excellent at dramatizing moods, he is also a very perceptive writer. (The screenplay is co-written by Pawlikwoski and playwright, Michel Wynne, from a novel by Helen Cross). He always knows his characters, sometimes better than the characters know themselves. The characters often act in surprising but believable ways.

When Pawlikowski started to work on the film it took him quite some time casting the two lead actresses. The overall casting procedure took about 8 months. Pawlikowski was searching in schools, universities, theater groups and public castings. Eventually he discovered Natalie Press and Emily Bunt. What a find, I must say. They both deservedly earned a BAFTA newcomer award for their performances in the film. In addition to the girls' performances, I am, however, particularly impressed by Paddy Considine's portrayal of Phil. A complicated man with a messy past, Phil is loving and protective one moment, violent and angry the next. Mr. Considine instills the tenderness and danger into his character perfectly.

My Summer of Love is a realistic and compelling film. I love the picturesque cinematography in contrast to the sometimes tender and sometimes devilish relationship of two intelligent teenage girls.


Directed by Pawel Pawlikowski; written by Mr. Pawlikowski and Michael Wynne, based on the novel by Helen Cross; director of photography, Ryszard Lenczewski; edited by David Charap; music by Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory; production designer, John Stevenson; produced by Tanya Seghatchian and Christopher Collins; released by Focus Features.

WITH: Natalie Press (Mona), Emily Blunt (Tamsin) and Paddy Considine (Phil).

MPAA: Rated R for sexuality, language and some drug content.Runtime: 86minsYear of release: 2005
Country: UK

Awards:
BAFTA 2005
Best British Film
Outstanding British Film of the Year
Best Screenplay: Pawel Pawlikowski and Michael Wynne
Best Newcomer award: Natalie Press and Emily Blunt


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FRANKENSTEIN'S BLOODY TERROR is the film that introduced legendary horror actor Paul Naschy to American audiences in 1972. The film was originally made in 1967 in Spain under the title LA MARCA DEL HOMBRE LOBO (MARK OF THE WOLFMAN) to solid success in Europe as international audiences truly took to Naschy's iconic werewolf Waldemar Danisky. Originally filmed in Cinemascope 70mm and in 3D, MARCA was an incredibly unique horror film that thrilled horror fans and would go on to spawn several sequels before the first film was even released in the USA. And oh boy was that American release a rocky story.

For those unfamiliar with the history of the film, Sam Sherman, the owner of Independent International Films was contracted to deliver a Frankenstein film to distributors who pre-booked the film. The film in question was an in-house Independent International production entitled BLOOD OF FRANKENSTEIN that ended up being "held hostage" by the laboratory that developed the film. Unlikely to get the film back in time to meet a distribution deadline, Sherman needed to find a Frankenstein film ASAP to get to the theaters. (BLOOD OF FRANKENSTEIN eventually was released as DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN)

Unable to find a suitable Frankenstein film (there simply weren't any available for pick up at the time), Sherman selected a film titled HELL'S CREATURES (the UK version of MARCA DEL HOMBRE LOBO) that dealt with a werewolf's struggle with vampires and another werewolf. However, there was NO Frankenstein monster! The second werewolf's name was Wolfstein, so an animated title prologue announced that werewolf blood infected members of the Frankenstein clan and they changed their name to Wolfstein. In other words, "Audience, we have swerved you!" While reports of audiences being more than mildly annoyed at the swerve are plentiful, also plentiful were positive audience member reviews that felt the quality of the film allowed folks to forgive the swerve.

Retitled FRANKENSTEIN'S BLOODY TERROR, the film was released to strong business on the drive-in circuit, but was pulled from distribution in order to release the original 3-D version of the film that bombed miserably.

In the 1980's, it was discovered that the original print of the film ran close to a half hour longer in its original Spanish language. The English dubbed HELL'S CREATURES print was significantly longer than the 77 minute USA FRANKENSTEIN'S BLOODY TERROR version as Sherman cut a great deal of footage he felt slowed the film down. (Mercifully, this is all reinstated for DVD as this version of FBT runs 97 minutes and the DVD also includes further deleted scenes found on the Spanish language version of the film)

SUMMARY: When gypsies robbing a grave pull a silver cross out of the heart of a long dead werewolf named Imir Wolfstein, the creature revives and goes on a rampage. The monster crosses paths with the brooding Heathcliff type character Waldemar Danisky who is able to put the cross back into Wolfstein's heart. (The hard way) Waldemar is bitten by the werewolf and now becomes a werewolf himself.

Learning that a mysterious Doctor may hold the secret to the cure, Waldemar contacts him and tells him of his plight. Unfortunately for Waldemar, the Doctor and his wife turn out to be VAMPIRES! The make Waldemar their slave and also raise Wolfstein from the dead again! All of this culminates in Waldemar's final showdown with the other monsters...

This film is tremendous B-Movie fun and is still enjoyable to watch today as it was when I first saw it on Saturday Afternoon TV in 1978. (Seeing it in its uncut glory is makes the film even better.) Naschy's pathos makes the character come alive and the great production values are only rivaled (at the time) by England's Hammer Studios.

Naschy would gone on to play El Hombre Lobo over a dozen more times with his most recent film being the abominable TOMB OF THE WEREWOLF which was his first film shot in the United States. Other Naschy werewolf films on DVD include WEREWOLF SHADOW which is great, CURSE OF THE DEVIL which is not so good, and FURY OF THE WOLFMAN which is awful. (Many other Naschy classics including other werewolf films have not been legally released on DVD in the USA) Hopefully more Naschy films will find their way to DVD. For now, enjoy this classic!

Like most people, I absolutely abhor airports and do everything in my power to get in and out as quickly as possible when I'm traveling. So I couldn't even begin to imagine what would happen if I found myself stuck in Viktor Navorski's situation. Navorski fell through a crack in the system and ended up having to live at JFK airport for about nine months.
That's the subject matter of The Terminal, a Steven Spielberg film starring Tom Hanks as Navorski. The movie begins with Navorski arriving in New York on a flight from his home country of Krakozhia. Like every other person on that plane, Viktor must navigate the passport counter before he can gain entry to New York City. Unbeknownst to Viktor, however, there was an uprising in his country when he was on the plane. The civil war and unrest in Krakozhia basically renders that country a non-entity for the time being and makes Viktor's passport and visa completely worthless as far as traveling purposes go. As the head customs officer Frank Dixon (played by Stanley Tucci) informs him, he can neither enter the United States nor go back to Krakozhia. Instead, Viktor must wait in limbo in the International Terminal at JFK until the situation in his homeland gets resolved.

That's the main plot of the movie in a nutshell. The rest of the film deals with this main story of Viktor's wait, and also shows several subplots that develop while Viktor is waiting. There is his adversarial relationship with Dixon, who, although is an unsympathetic character, does things by the book and doesn't force Viktor's hand one way or the other until very late in the film. There are the friendships Viktor develops with the airport workers that he sees every single day during his confinement (he even serves as a go-between for an unlikely romance). And there is the sweet relationship he forms with a flight attendant named Amelia Warren (Catherine Zeta-Jones) who has horrible taste in men.

I thought the first half of The Terminal was excruciatingly boring. First of all, I didn't like the way Tom Hanks played Navorski. He went for the stereotypical portrayal of a foreigners as "bumbling idiots" what with the way he runs into glass doors, goes into the women's restroom (even though it's clearly marked), and just generally seems not to have a clue about how things work. As someone with a lot of experience traveling abroad and living in foreign countries, I can tell you that you don't suddenly turn incompetent when you enter a new country -- even if you don't understand the language or customs at all.

To make matters worse, Hanks' characterization wasn't even consistent. For example, Viktor doesn't speak much English at all when he first arrives in the U.S. His first meeting with Dixon and his pathetic attempts at finding a job clearly show this. Yet just a few months later, he's able to carry on in-depth conversations in English and understand complex subject matters? Well, which is it? If Viktor was truly the bumbling idiot Hanks makes him at the beginning of the film, he wouldn't have been able to pick up the language that quickly. If he was smart enough to pick up the language, then his actions at the beginning of the film are just absurd.

Besides the characterization, I had to wonder why anyone would want to make a film about someone who is essentially waiting. Obviously, there's a bigger message here, but that didn't exactly help move the plot along. Don't get me wrong: I don't need to have two hours of non-stop bang-'em-up action scenes in a movie in order to enjoy it, but this film was a real snooze!

I stuck with it however, and have to say that the second half was much, much better. I didn't care enough about the characters to care about how their lives turned out, but at least things happened in the second half of the movie.

If you're looking for something entertaining to watch, you won't find it in The Terminal. As a big fan of both Hanks and Spielberg, I gave this movie every chance to work for me, but it just didn't. I recommend staying away!

As a movie lover, I occasionally try to take in some heralded classics in order to get a feel for how things used to get done in Hollywood. Towards that end, I recently watched On the Waterfront, a 1954 film that was directed by the legendary Elia Kazan, whose other works include A Streetcar Named Desire, East of Eden, and Splendor in the Grass.

On the Waterfront was a critically-acclaimed box office success when it first came out, and the movie received 11 Oscar nominations. It won eight Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Writing (today called Best Screenplay), Best Leading Actor for star Marlon Brando, and Best Supporting Actress for Eva Marie Saint.

I knew that On the Waterfront had won all these awards, so I had very high expectations for the movie. In addition, I was anxious to see why Marlon Brando was considered such a great actor in his heyday. I'd never seen him in anything (no, not even The Godfather) but was looking forward to checking out one of Hollywood's most famous leading men of the past.

Brando plays an ex-prizefighter named Terry Malloy who currently works as a longshoreman given work through a corrupt union run by mob boss Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb). Terry gets the cushy jobs because his brother Charley (Rod Steiger ) is one of Friendly's right hand men. When Terry isn't working on the waterfront, he occasionally runs errands and does other favors for Friendly. One of those favors involved getting a stool pigeon named Joe Doyle to go up to the roof of a building to "talk" to some of Friendly's guys. Doyle ends up getting thrown off the roof, which is pretty much how Johnny Friendly always handled his business.

Joe Doyle's sister Edie (Eva Marie Saint) wants to find out who was responsible for the murder. The next day she heads down to the docks to try to get someone to talk, but since all the men need work and the work only comes if Johnny Friendly's assistants handpick them, no one is willing to say a thing.

Another key player in the film, Father Barry (Karl Malden) makes a speech exhorting the men to take back their union and free themselves from the oppressiveness of Johnny Friendly's hold. Father Barry offers his church as a meeting place and invites everyone to come in and talk about what's going on.

Meanwhile, a couple of federal agents descend on the docks and issue a subpoena to Terry Malloy. They've heard that Terry was the last person to see Joe Doyle alive and they want him to testify that Doyle was murdered on Johnny Friendly's orders. At first, Terry absolutely refuses to be a "canary," but after he develops closer ties with both Father Barry and Edie Doyle, he is forced to rethink his position. The remainder of the film deals with Terry's struggle with his conscience and whether he will do the right thing or not.

Overall, I thought On the Waterfront was a very good movie. The subject matter is perhaps a bit dated (I read somewhere that film was basically a metaphor explaining director Elia Kazan's decision to testify leanings in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee about colleagues with Communistic leanings), but I didn't think that detracted from the experience I had of watching a true American classic.

I have to say that I was very impressed by Brando's performance and could easily see why he was such a major studio star back then. I also thought Karl Malden was fantastic as Father Barry, and enjoyed the scenes he shared with Brando. A lot of people think Malden was robbed when he didn't win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, and I would have to agree after seeing his performance here! Brando, by the way, was absolutely deserving of his award.

I don't think On the Waterfront would appeal to many of today's average moviegoers who are used to fast-paced action and heavy-handed storytelling. However, if you're interested in watching a classic film, hearing some great lines (including the widely quoted "I coulda been a contender" speech), and seeing top actors in their prime, then I suggest renting this DVD the next time you go to the video store or place a Netflix order.

Steven Spielberg has added another high quality entertaining film to his resume in the newly released DVD, Munich.

Munich is a historical suspense thriller based on the book Vengance written by George Jonas.

Most people when they heard about the film, me included thought the film was about a group of Arab terrorists breaking into the Olympic village and executing 11 Israeli athletes while the whole world watched.

I was 8 years old when this occurred and do remember seeing film of the gunman on the balcony.

As a rabid movie fan, that story did not intrigue me. I, along with the whole world, knew the ending.

Thankfully, this is not the premise of the film, but the backdrop. The films scope and plot centers on the Israeli response to the massacre of their athletes, specifically, the tracking down and assassination of all who were involved in the planning of the Olympic raid in Munich.

The film starts with the Terrorists braking into building 31. The Israeli athletes were held in this dorm building. For there we see the panic and two deaths that occur at the onslaught.

After the scene, we break away to television sets in Israel. Crowds gather round and we see some live footage of the man on the balcony from the original raid. We are also shown, the actual live update from ABC sports. This is a good mix of actual footage that brings back memories for those of us who saw it live.

From that sequence, the movie jumps ahead to the conclusion of the raid. All 11 Israelis were killed. Spielberg introduces each one with a photo and a name. Spielberg is trying to introduce the human element to the story, which he does successfully repeatedly.

From here we go to a meeting room with the Prime Minister at the time, Golda Meir (played forcefully by Lynn Cohen), she also looks like her. At least from what my eight-year-old memory banks recall. We see Gold Meirer in a meeting room, debating with her advisors. She has a well acted, thought provoking monologue about society, civilization and peace. The interesting part of the scene is the reality of decisions political leaders around the world need to make regarding the taking of human life. It is a heavy burden to bear. I am glad my biggest decisions are which blog I wish to write today.

From there we meet the main character, Avner (played by Eric Bana), who has been called to a meet with the Chief of the Mossad, two Generals and Prime Minister Golda Meir. Here Avner is asked to take up a dangerous assignment. Track down the people that were responsible for the raid and kill them all. They give him one day to decide.

Well, he decides to take the assignment and then begins his journey into the dark world of black ops. Avners character and his mental state are explored thoroughly thru out the film. As he begins his journey, we are taken back to the horrifying events in Munich.

Spielberg is showing the character reinforcing his justification for the assignment he has undertaken. He will do this periodically throughout the film.

When he arrives in Europe, we pick up a scene at his safe house where we meet the rest of his squad. In the scene, the new assassins are having dinner and coming to grips with their newfound profession. They ask each other if they have done this before or had training. They are surprised to find out about their real professions. One of the squad remarks, It is strange to think of oneself as an assassin to which Avner replies think of yourself as something else then.

We continually are exploring the mental state of the death squad. How do they mentally deal with their job?

Later in the film, Avner meets an Arab named Ali and they debate the Israeli/ Palestinian conflict. Ali is wonderful in this scene. A passionate well-acted performance leaves the viewer sad about the whole Middle East mess.

In between scenes of the character development, we are taken on crudely unprofessional assassinations. This is the main story line, and we follow the group thru seven assassinations.

During the film, Spielberg likes to help us get to know the characters as he did in Saving Private Ryan. You are brought into the human element of each person, before he meets his demise.

Munich is a fast paced action film that is very violent. Eric Banna (Avner) delivers a solid performance that connects with the viewer.

The film is rated R for strong graphic violence and there is some nudity. I recommend the film because it tells a good story. A story about political ideals in the 1970s that people felt justify murder. This film is universal. This writers believes the worlds political ideologies have not changed any and we are not any more civilized now 34 years later.

By Simon Woodhouse

Every now and then a film sneaks in under the radar. It creeps into the multiplexes, receives almost no publicity or hype, stays on general release for a couple of weeks and then disappears again. I was living in England when Donnie Darko received its theatrical release, and it stayed at the local cinema for a grand total of one day. It was a weekday as well, so I didn't get a chance to see it. When I bought the DVD, I really had no idea about the film, other than I was still miffed I'd missed it at the cinema. Fortunately it's the sort of movie that doesn't require surround sound, or a fifty-foot tall screen to enjoy, so watching it at home wasn't really any different from seeing it at the multiplex.

Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhall) is a troubled youth. But his story isn't one of a kid living on the wrong side of the tracks, and struggling to make good in a bad world, it's much more complex than that. The film opens with Donnie waking up on a lonely country road. He's been sleep walking again. Ordinarily this would be a bad thing, but the next night he's doing the same thing again and it saves his life. The sleepwalking is a symptom of his neurosis, but that's not its only manifestation - he's hallucinating too. Frank the Rabbit, maybe one of the scariest creations in recent cinema, appears before Donnie and delivers cryptic messages about when the world is going to end. This doesn't sit well with Donnie's middleclass parents, so he's in therapy.

As the film moves on he meets Gretchen (Jena Malone), a new girl in school, who's moved to Donnie's neighborhood so her mother can escape her abusive father. They form a bond, united by the confusion in their lives. Though Donnie finds some solace with Gretchen, he's still visited by Frank the Rabbit. The sleep walking turns into sleep vandalism, and Donnie's school is flooded and the school mascot defaced.

Against the backdrop of Donnie's personal troubles, the film also has a strong liberal versus conservative theme. But this isn't a straight rant by one against the other, it's done by showing how conservatism seeks to ignore complex issues by applying black and white answers, and how liberalism's lack of discipline lets the same issues forever go unsolved. These battle lines are the clearest in Donnie's school, where conservative and liberal teachers are fighting each other for control of the curriculum, and thus the minds of the children.

Besides Frank the Rabbit, Donnie also starts seeing what looks like a long tentacle made of water. This apparition leads him to objects that may or may not have something to do with his future. Though this sounds bizarre, it does fit in with another of the films subplots - time travel. To start with, this aspect of the movie seems like a distracting side element, but it really comes into play right at the end.

Though the film works well as a whole, there are a few individual scenes that really stand out. Donnie's confrontation with a motivational speaker, Jim Cunningham (Patrick Swayze), is amongst the best. There are also several touching moments - the first time he kisses Gretchen, his conversation with his science teacher about God. Not all the creepy scenes include Frank the Rabbit or the water tentacle. One of the most disturbing sections involves Donnie's twelve-year-old sister, and some of her classmates, covered in far too much makeup and dancing cheerleader style in front of an audience of cheering parents. This becomes all the more creepy, when one of the people urging them on is shortly afterward found to have a house full of child pornography.

In a film as dark as this, it's obvious there's not going to be a happy ending. But the odd thing here is the fact Donnie Darko has two finales. Remember the earlier subplot about time travel? It comes back with a vengeance at the end. So just when you think things are really bleak, the movie jumps backward and delivers an alternative ending that was actually the beginning as well. However, if you find the concept of time travel difficult to grapple with, you might be confused. I'll be with you if you are, but that didn't spoil my enjoyment of the film.

Good performances abound, especially from Jake Gyllenhall. His real life sister, Maggie, also plays his sister in the film, and the family connection adds an extra layer of realism. Besides the top quality acting, a brilliant, late 80s soundtrack helps set the tone. Songs from Echo and the Bunnymen, Tears for Fears, Joy Division and The Church work much better than an orchestral score. Obviously someone involved in the production was a Tears for Fears fan, because they appear twice. But they don't perform their second song, it's an acoustic piano version of Mad World sung by Gary Jules, which was released as a single in the UK and reached number one about a year after the film's happened.

Adding all the individual elements together here makes one very dark, but also totally absorbing movie. Even when you've seen it a dozen times, and know the ending, it'll still resonate and leave a lasting impression.

When I first saw the previews for "Waiting to Exhale", I knew I wanted to see it but for some reason didn't manage to actually get a chance to until two years after the movie was released. Originally, I purchased the movie on VHS but since then, decided that I liked it so much that I was going to go out and also purchase it on DVD. It is without question that DVDs beat VHS any day. The movie, which is based on the award winning novel "Waiting to Exhale" which is written by Terry McMillan, contains an award-winning cast consisting of popular actors, actresses, and even a Grammy winning recording artist. The movie won eight awards and was nominated for another eight awards that include three Grammy's, seven Image Awards, three MTV Movie Awards, and several others.

The cast of "Waiting to Exhale" includes Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine, Lela Rochon, and Gregory Hines. Whitney Houston, who is a famous recording artist and also starred in the movie, "The Bodyguard", plays Savannah Jackson, a busy career woman who seems to meet all the wrong men, including an "unavailable" one. Angela Bassett who is known more familiarly for her roles in a flurry of movies including, "How Stella Got Her Groove Back", "What's Love Got To Do With It", and "Rosa Parks", plays Bernadine 'Bernie' Harris, a mother of two, who puts her life dreams on hold in order to help to make her husband's dreams a reality. Loretta Devine, an actress who has had roles in a variety of movies and television dramas that include "Grey's Anatomy", "Boston Public" and "A Different World", plays the role of Gloria Matthews, the single mother of a teenage boy and divorcee. Lela Rochon, an actress who has had roles in a medley of television sitcoms and movies including "Boomerang" and "Any Given Sunday", plays the role of Robin Stokes, a young woman who has yet to find luck in love but who has had success in finding all the wrong guys. Playing the role of Marvin King, the love interest of Gloria Matthews, is Gregory Hines, an actor who has had roles in "The Preacher's Wife", "Renaissance Man", and who has also had roles in several television shows including "Will and Grace" and "Law and Order".
The movie follows the ups and downs of the individual lives of the four women, the struggles they have in their relationships with men, and it highlights the role that friendship plays in each of the women's lives.

The movie begins with Savannah (Whitney Houston) getting ready to go to a New Year's Eve party. She is anxious and excited because she is going to meet a man named Lionel (Jeffrey D. Sams) that she has been talking to or rather they have been leaving messages back and forth for quite some time. She finishes the final touches in preparation for the date that includes an application of lipstick and a spray of perfume. She then heads out the door to the party hopeful of finding love, yet content that if she doesn't at least being able to dance the night away. When she arrives, she sits at the first available table that just so happens to be occupied by couples and it is no surprise when she is shunned by the women who clearly fear that she is out to steal their man. Eventually, she finds Lionel and there seems to be an instant connection between the two and the night of dancing begins. Both Lionel and Savannah are enjoying the dance and eventually Savannah reaches the point of total contentment that is characterized by her taking a deep breath and exhaling. Not long after that, a woman taps Lionel on the shoulder and asks why he hasn't danced with her all night. Clearly, he is there with this other woman. Savannah shoots Lionel an icy glare and then walks out, anxious to get home so she can at least catch the New Year's Eve Dick Clark Show.

In the life of Bernie (Angela Bassett), things tend to be always chaotic. She is busy running errands, picking up kids, picking up dry cleaning, and is heading home to get ready for yet another business function that she is going to attend with her husband, John Harris (Michael Beach). As Bernie is getting ready, John comes in to the room and asks her if she would be terribly upset if they didn't go to the function. Bernie is happy because she wasn't that thrilled about attending the event anyways. At that point, John drops a bomb. You see, it isn't that he isn't going to be going to the event; he just isn't going to go to the event with Bernie. He also informs her that he is leaving her for another woman, who happens to be a white woman, and that he will leave her the house. Bernie, who has basically been a stay-at-home Mom and who has helped to build up John's business is left in a predicament that requires her to sell the house. The breakup is harsh and extremely cold and it is no surprise that it sends Bernie into a depressive state.

On another side of town, Gloria Matthews (Loretta Devine) is doing her grocery shopping. As she heads out to her car, she laments over the fact that she just doesn't understand why her teenage son has to spend New Year's Eve with his friends. In her opinion, he'd have much more fun at home with her watching "Good Times".

Since all the men that Robin (Lela Rochon) encounters seem to be the wrong ones, including her married ex Russell (Leon), she decides to go out with a man named Michael Davenport (Wendell Pierce), a coworker from the insurance company she works for. Michael doesn't quite meet Robin's superficial expectations but since the other ones haven't worked out, she figures she'll give him a try. While physically and sexually Robin is less than impressed, she discovers that Michael has a good heart and that sparks an interest and an attraction for her.

The news of John leaving Bernie for a white woman spreads like wildfire among the town and it is no time before the girls are calling Bernie up to find out what happened. Immediately, Savannah decides to go visit her. When Savannah arrives, she finds Bernie sitting around in her robe drinking wine while watching the videos of her marriage to John along with videos from birthday parties and various special events. Savannah stays there and tries to comfort and console her friend through this difficult life change.

Savannah stays pretty busy with her work but makes it a priority to keep in close contact with her mother, an elderly woman who financially struggles, but doesn't like to ask her daughter for help. Her mother calls up to say hello and to let Savannah know that the former love of her life, Kenneth Dawkins (Dennis Haysbert) has been asking about her and she encourages Savannah to give him a call. Savannah is hesitant because he is a married man with a young daughter but decides to give him a call anyway. It is only a matter of time before the two start to have an affair. Savannah starts to fall for Kenneth again and decides she really wants to be with Kenneth; however, despite his constant complaining about his wife and how unhappy he is, Kenneth always has an excuse or a reason to put off divorcing her. Needless to say, as times passes, eventually Savannah gets fed up.

While Gloria Matthews keeps occupied with her career at her hair salon and raising her teenage boy, things take an interesting turn. When her ex husband Joseph (Lamont Johnson) notifies her that he will be coming into town to visit with their son Tarik Matthews (Donald Faison), Gloria is ecstatic. The last time he came into town he ended up spending the night. Gloria assumes that this time will be no different. When Tarik decides he wants nothing to do with his Dad, Gloria invites Joseph over anyways despite the fact that Tarik will not be there. When Joseph comes over, he tells Gloria that he won't be staying the night and he drops a bomb on her. He tells Gloria that all this time he has been gay. Gloria is surprised, confused, and has no idea how she is going to tell her son Tarik. In the meantime, a new neighbor whose name is Marvin King (Dennis Haysbert) is moving in across the street. Gloria, a woman who is self-conscious about her weight, makes an effort to bring over a plate of food to him and the two hit it off. To her surprise, he likes bigger women, especially those with some "meat on their bones". Sparks fly and it isn't long before the two start dating.

It didn't take long for the relationship between Robin and Michael to end. Things ended up getting heated at work and that led to the demise of the relationship between the two. While Robin goes back and forth with her ex Russell, she meets a new man at the grocery store named Troy (Mykelti Williamson) and although she has her reservations, the two start seeing each other. Although Troy has a few bad habits including some issues with drugs and alcohol, Robin doesn't want to give up on the possibility yet. It is quite suspicious when Robin's wallet turns up missing and raises the question whether or not Troy took it but once again, Robin ignores it. At one point in the relationship, Troy tells Robin that he wants to take her to meet his mama. Since Robin has never had a man who wanted to introduce her to his mama, she decides to give him one last chance. Robin spends that whole afternoon waiting for Troy to show up and when it comes close to sunset, he finally arrives completely drunk and stumbling all around. She breaks up with him on the spot.

"Waiting to Exhale" is a good drama that will make you laugh out loud at some points and shed a tear at others. Not only does the movie have an award winning cast but it also has a great soundtrack with music by various artists including Toni Braxton, Whitney Houston, TLC, Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, Brandy, and several others.

Not only is this a great film, Glory takes you to a place and time that is hard for most African Americans to think off. We do not know some of the pain and suffering that those who fought the way before knew. Racial epitaphs be slurred at us every day. It would be double the effect if we were fighting for our country and we were still treated in this manor. Being a veteran in the Unites States Army, I could not even imagine coming home or fighting on the front lines, and being called some of the horrible names that these men care called in the movie. Enough about that lets get talking about the movie.

I guess we are starting to see a pattern here. It has been the precedent to wait a few decades goes by before the Academy allows an African American to receive the award for acting. Could it be cause of the roles that they are given, being only roles that in where they do not have to stretch too far from what they already know. Or is it because those voting on Academy awards do not know how to recognize good acting when they see it? Who knows? All I know is that Whoppie Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey were both passed over in their portrayal of Celie and Sophia (respectively) in the Color Purple, We do not see another winner for acting until the movie Glory. In Glory, the union unit, led by Col. Robert Gould Shaw, played by Matthew Broderick, and other white abolitionists struggle against racial prejudice in many forms. In one seen, the Col goes and tries to get supplies for his troops and is shunned and battered by other white soldiers for commanding an all Black unit. Col Shaw is does not let this shake him.

Another seen depicts him conveying to his troops the important of appearance and having to be better than the other soldiers to be considered equal. The climax depicts the Union's attack on Fort Wagner, which was spearheaded by Col Shaw's troops, who took heavy losses but was hailed for their bravery. Denzel Washington played a misfit who was part of Col. Shaw's unit and went on to be awarded an Academy Award for Acting, the fourth to ever do so in Academy history.

It was a Christmas miracle when we did not have to wait another few decades to see another African American received the Academy Award for acting. Whoopie Goldberg received it for her role as Ode Mae Brown in the movie Ghost.. In this thrilling tale, Sam Wheat, played by Patrick Swayze, and Molly Jensen, played by, Demi Moore, are one of the most loving couples ever. On their way back to their new apartment they run into a roughneck named Willy Lopez, played by Rick Aviles resulting the death of Sam. As ghost, Sam comes to the realization that the robbery was planned by no other than his best friend, Carl Bruner, played by Tony Goldwyn who hired Willy to rob Sam in order to get Sam's wallet, containing the password to Sam's computer, which would allow Carl to conclude a money-laundering deal he was involved in.

In order for Sam to make sure that Carl does not get away with the dastardly deed, he has to warn Molly and ask for her help. The only problem is that only a very few people can speak to ghost so Sam employs the help of Oda Mae Brown, Played by Whoopie Goldberg. Ode Mae is the sunshine to this dark and dreary film, which may be the reason why Whoopie won the Academy Award for her role. With the help of Oda Mae, Sam thwarts Carl and Willy's plans to get huge amounts of money and Carl soon discovers the presence of Sam's ghost. Carl sends Willy to kill Oda Mae and her sisters, but with the interference of Sam, Willy fails and is hit by a truck and dies. Shadow-like devils then appear and take Willy to hell. Molly finally believes in the existence of Sam's ghost, but an outraged Carl storms into her house and threatens Sam to kill Molly and Oda Mae if he does not give him the money. He fails, of course, and by accident, he is killed by a half-broken window crashing down on him. Carl is taken to hell and Sam has fulfilled his mission to save Molly.

I don't watch comedies very often because I think it's very difficult to sustain the jokes and laughter for the entire movie without becoming tiresome or repetitive. But once in a while, I will check out a comedy, especially if it has generated good word-of-mouth recommendations. That's how I first came upon Legally Blonde shortly after it was released in 2001.

Legally Blonde stars Reese Witherspoon as Elle Woods, a rich sorority girl who seems to have everything going for her. She's popular in her sorority house, she gets top grades as a fashion major, and she has the perfect boyfriend in Warner Huntington III (played by Matthew Davis).

At the beginning of the movie, Elle and Warner are in their senior year of college at an unidentified California university. One day Warner sets up a date with Elle, and she somehow gets the impression that he wants to propose to her. However, just the opposite happens and Warner tells her that he wants to break up with h