Brick

I have to say it, "Brick" is probably the best movie I have seen this year so far, and I don't think I'll see another that will top it. I had heard about "Brick" for a while now, and when I heard the premise of it, I knew that it was something that I would have to check out. I'm glad I did, because not only did I end up enjoying it the first time I saw it, but I watched it again the next day. Not many films can do that for me, but this one most certainly did. There was no way I could have ever bet that I would've ended up loving this movie the way I do.

If you're unfamiliar with the approach to the movie, it's pretty much a detective-murder-whodunit movie with a catch; it's set in modern times and it involves high school kids. Yet, the kids talk in the manner that you would expect from your typical hard-boiled detective movie. The story concerns Brendan Frye, who is contacted by his ex-girlfriend by phone. On the phone, she sounds frightened and troubled, but doesn't say much about what is the matter. Two days later, she ends up dead. Brendan knows that she got involved with the wrong crowd, so in order to find out who is responsible for her death and why, he has to go in deep into the underground drug world that has consumed a good amount of his schoolmates. The deeper he goes, the more risk he puts himself in.

This film is extremely well done and well made, and that caught me off guard. I wasn't expecting a movie like this, nor was I expecting that I would end up loving it so much. The film seems innocent and fun at a glance until you really get into it, and then you realize how dark and brutal it can get. Just because it involves high school kids, it doesn't mean it's child's play. It's film noir at its finest, and it even pokes fun at itself a little here and there, but overall it's a pretty dark and serious movie. What really sells the movie in the end is the great performances from the cast, especially the lead actor.

Because of how odd and different "Brick" is, there's a good chance that more people will end up not liking it so much. That is the risk these kinds of movies take, but it's nice to see something that isn't so "commercial friendly" for a change. It stands out, and that's something that has to be admired to some degree. I would recommend renting it first because of this. Also, I recommend that you see it more than once. As much as I liked it the first time, I really appreciated it for what it was more during the second viewing. The DVD doesn't have a whole lot to offer, sadly. There are some deleted/extended scenes, audition tapes from two of the actors in the movie, and cast/crew commentary. It's a shame that they don't give you the trailer, which I thought was really good. I also would've liked to see some behind-the-scenes features.

"Brick" took me for a ride and I have to say that I loved every minute of it. It's an exhilarating and brilliant film that takes a lot of chances without apologizing to anybody in the end. It's one you'll either love or hate, but I think it's definitely worth the time checking it out. If you're looking for something that isn't typical or dull, then I highly recommend it. It's too soon to say, but I think if you give it enough time it could become a classic. It's high up on my list of favorite movies now, and that only took two days. -Michael Crane

Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars in "Brick" as Brendan, a high school student searching for his ex-girlfriend, Emily. After they broke up, Emily started "eating lunch" with a more popular, yet mysterious crowd ("The Upper-Crust"). As he delves into their world, he finds a sickening subculture of drugs, double-crosses, and worse.

The movie is set in Orange County (San Clemente), and the movie's big hook is that it's an update of those terrific film noirs of the 1940s and 1950s. Yes, the movie sometimes comes across as "The O.C." mixed with "The Lady from Shanghai," with just a touch of "Blue Velvet." However, as such, "Brick" succeeds very well. The dialogue is full of clever pithy lines and slang that went out with Eisenhower (Beautiful woman: Do you trust me now? Brendan: Less than when I didn't trust you before.). The directing is also terrific kudos to first time director Rian Johnson. Finally, Jospeh Gordon-Levitt makes a likeable protagonist amidst the crazy proceedings and characters, including a rather magnetic Lukas Haas as "The Pin."

Although making the film in noir style is essentially a stunt, the tone helps make the movie deeper, more satisfying easily one of the most intricate teen dramas ever made. The plot is full of holes (what film noir isn't?), but the noir style and look smoothes out the rough edges; yes, style does sometimes trump content. There were a few times when the "Brick" verged on being a typical teen movie; fortunately, Johnson manages to get back on track. Highly recommended for fans of film noir or sophisticated teen dramas.

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Rian Johnson's "Brick" won a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Festival for originality of vision, and seldom has an award been more deserved. This witty, breathlessly entertaining low-budget flick conflates modern-day high-school angst with the mean-street conventions of 1940s detective fiction and movies. The surprise is that director/screenwriter Johnson plays the story absolutely straight, and gets away with it, while at the same time touching on some uncomfortable truths about growing up in America. Brendan Frye (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), whose delicate, poetic looks belie his limitless resources of toughness and courage, goes underground among his school's drug-addled "upper crust" to uncover the murderers of his ex-girlfriend Emily (Emilie de Ravin). He endures multiple beatings from the goon Tugger (Noah Fleiss), as well as threats from both The Pin (Lukas Haas), a cadaverous criminal mastermind who still lives with his doting mother, and Assistant Vice Principal Trueman (Richard Roundtree), who basically plays the Barton McLane role to Gordon-Levitt's Bogart. Then there are the femmes fatales in training, Laura (Nora Zehetner) and Kara (Meagan Good), who may or may not be helping Brendan. "Brick" is remarkably stylish and atmospheric for its miniscule budget; Johnson is masterful at capturing the claustrophobic milieu in which Brendan and his antagonists lurk. There are scenes of action and suspense here that put big-budget epics like "V for Vendetta" to shame, simply because Johnson knows how to edit, and because he makes us care about the characters, especially Brendan. I never paid much attention to Gordon-Levitt until I saw his performance as an emotionally damaged male prostitute in Gregg Araki's "Mysterious Skin." Based on his performances here and in that film, I would say that Gordon-Levitt is quickly becoming one of the truly great American screen actors. All the other actors are also fine, including Matt O'Leary as The Brain, Brendan's informant and only true friend, and Noah Segan as the pathetic "reef worm" Dode. Some critics have complained about "Brick's" convoluted plot and stylized dialogue--Johnson creates a language for his characters that is half Chandleresque slang, half teen speak. But for me they only added to the film's fascination. You'll probably need to see the film more than once to catch all the details, but, then again, you'll WANT to see it more than once. Myself, I can't wait for the DVD to come out.

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Brick is a strange animal that seems to appear almost out of nowhere. A lot of people my have come here because they've heard about this movie and haven't yet seen it. Some of you may have come here because you tried to watch it but had to turn it off because you couldn't understand what the hell they were talking about.

Let me suggest this: TURN ON THE SUBTITLES.

Yeah, I know it's in English and you recognize the main character from that TV show: Third Rock from The Sun, but this isn't a sitcom on NBC, and this isn't your typical run-of-the-mill, teen flavored High School drama. In Brick, you're about as far from John Hughes territory as your going to get and closer to the backyard of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler than you might realize. As a huge fan of The Big Sleep, I was really caught of guard by this film and stunned when I realized just what was going on. Seeing 1940's film noir, soaked in a teen centered tale of woe, works better than I would've ever thought. And for the record, I don't think anyone, other than the writer dared attempt something like this and succeed at it too. Bravo.

Rian Johnson makes a writing and directorial debut to rival most of his peers and mentors. This film is enough to make the Gods tremble, hopefully he'll be able to follow it up appropriately. On a side note, Rian offers up his screenplay, the novella he wrote that goes with it, an essay and drawings for no charge on his site, which is easily found, if you're interested in reading.

Nora Zehetner as the smoldering and cold-calculating heroine is also a definite high point, and her career and longevity in films is assured.

This film could easily be the Blade Runner of this generation.

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I can understand why reviews of this movie are so split down the middle. It's a very strange and weird idea: Shoot a film noir and do the dialogue and structure as if you were adapting a Hammett novel back in the day, but set and shoot the movie at a contemporary California high school. Either you think this is brilliant or you think it's totally idiotic.

From my own experience and from talking to others, I think it is tough to get into this movie primarily because of the patterns of speech. Everybody talks very fast with a stylized delivery as if they were in a movie from the 30s or 40s, using a lot of slang most of us don't use, and the sound quality isn't so great. My suggestion to anyone who wants to give this a go but winds up having a hard time is to try it out with SUBTITLES, believe it or not (and I am *not* kidding about this). Because once I did, I realized I was mishearing certain words and I started to pick up on the rhythms, hear things correctly, and the dialogue started to sound natural; eventually I got into the flow of it enough to get rid of them (though I admit in a few scenes I wound up going back and putting them back on just to make sure I got the lines right).

You might ask, what's the point of doing a movie this way if it winds up creating a problem like that? Well, I think that the reason for dealing with this is because this oddball strategy of Rian Johnson's winds up actually creating one of the more successful attempts at a contemporary film noir. For whatever strange reason, the artificiality of the dialogue and farcical nature of the proceedings works quite well once you give in to the conceit. Many other attempts at doing a modern neo-noir wind up feeling way too "retro" and nostalgic and they stumble over themselves trying to figure out how to be modern but yet try to keep all the elements of old detective thrillers that people miss and want to see (see Kiss Kiss Bang Bang for an example of sort of the tricky questions that come up in trying to do contemporary noir). The high school setting actually defuses that problem because it is silly and anachronistic already, so having modern day kids talking in old fashioned out of date tough guy lingo is no more strange than having anyone else, adult or not, talking that way these days. The plot is predictably convoluted in the old noir-detective style and there are all the usual archetypes and manipulations. Somehow they seem sort of fresh in the setting of high school. And since most of us tended to discover detective novels in our teen years, it seems perfectly fitting to project their tropes out into that world, to imagine that high school is a microcosm of all the things one read about in pulp fiction.

So I'll take sides with the "pro"-Brick crowd; I enjoyed it.

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Ponyo (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) (2008)

Ponyo is a young fish-girl who loves to explore, but her father, a great wizard of the sea, fears the chaos her untamed powers could unleash upon the world. He's right to worry, since she, like every young undomesticated child, is an elemental force of nature who has little respect for the boundaries that grownups take so seriously. She escapes and meets up with a young boy whose imagination at least is a match for her magical powers and it is love at first sight. Not romantic love but something more innocent and pure like the youthful love of nature.

It starts out strong and contains some of Miyazaki's most delightful and exuberant imagery, as when Ponyo runs blissfully upon the backs of her sisters who are at once giant fish and enormous waves. The story itself as it develops has gaps, moments that don't all add up, and unexplained elements. As another reviewer mentioned, for example, the test that Fujimoto and the sea goddess devise for Sosuke is somewhat anticlimactic, unlike the tests faced by the heroine of Spirited Away. I had the suspicion several times that perhaps Disney cut things out for its U.S. release since the plot lacked some of the depth and richness in its backstory of many of Miyazaki's other works. A bit of searching shows I was wrong this is the film Hayao Miyazaki intended. He is quoted in the L.A. Daily News as saying: "I intentionally tried to simplify things for this film. I figured that this movie should be seen by 5-year-olds, since they are the main characters. So I made the storytelling easy to understand. I figured they could watch it later as adults and understand the more complex parts of it, so I didn't foreground those elements." In hindsight he may be right -from a young person's perspective what matters is just the magical relation between two young children, and from their perspective everything else, the fate of the cosmos, even, hinges on that.

Like most of his films, there is an ecological message here, that humans tend to ignore the wonders around them and treat carelessly the gift of the earth. Here it is expressed in an entertaining and magical story that will be easily understood by children. While, from the perspective of an adult viewer, I found this film less fully satisfying than masterpieces like Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke, or even the delicate and rich My Neighbor Totoro which is the closest in spirit to this film still it contains some remarkable and beautiful imagery and delightful moments. Well worth watching, and a very lovely and simple introduction to the work of one of the most inventive and important animated storytellers alive. There's no one else quite like him, and we're lucky to have another Miyazaki film, especially given his initial plans to retire upon completing the Academy Award-winning Spirited Away. Highly recommended.

In 2008, Studio Ghibli released their latest Hayao Miyazaki film "Ponyo" (aka "Gake no Ue no Ponyo") in Japan and followed with a U.S. release in August 2009. The film which is Miyazaki's eighth film for Studio Ghibli has amassed several awards including the Japanese Academy Prize for Animation of the Year. The film which is budgeted around $34 million dollars made over $199 million worldwide. Where his 1988 film "My Neighbor Totoro" was Miyazaki's tale for older children, this time around for "Ponyo" he wanted to create a film for young children and was inspired from Hans Christian Anderson's "The Little Mermaid".

VIDEO:

Magical, beautiful and everything that you can expect from Hayao Miyazaki. I was completely in awe when I watched this film. In this day and age, we tend to put so much into CG animated films and rarely do we see hand drawn quality animation anymore. I'm so glad that Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli continues to show this creative style through this film. The hand painted backgrounds are absolutely beautiful, the character design continues that Miyazaki look and style but looks absolutely fluid during its more action-oriented scenes.

Presented in 1080p High Definition, detail can be seen on the painted backgrounds. Vibrant during the day scenes with trees that are full of detail and water reflecting the trees, cliffs showcasing the detail as shadows and detail showcasing the curvature and the little pieces of grass that are placed within the rocks. The scene with the storm and the crashing features Miyazaki's handiwork as he created the water and his waves all by himself. It's an amazing sight to see.

There are no compression artifacts, edge enhancement, aliasing, banding or any problems in picture quality for "Ponyo" whatsoever. "Ponyo" achieves perfection!

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

"Ponyo" is presented in English 5.1 DTS Master Audio (48 kHz/24-bit) and in Japanese and French 5.1 Dolby Digital. First the good. The English dub track is fantastic. You want an immersive soundscape, "Ponyo" delivers. From the sound of the ocean, bubbles popping, the rush of the waves, the sounds of trees rustling, the sound of rain, sea animals swimming in the water and most of all, a beautiful musical score by Joe Hisaishi. This soundtrack is absolutely divine. Great use of front and center channels with dialogue and music that is crystal clear. The surround channels and the use of LFE as the sound effects bring "Ponyo" to life. This lossless soundtrack is perfect!

Now the bad. There is no lossless Japanese audio soundtrack. The Japanese Blu-ray release has a lossless soundtrack but what happened to it for this Blu-ray release? There is no doubt that audiophile purists who want the original Japanese soundtrack are going to be upset by this and one can hope that if Disney does bring out a Miyazaki release on Blu-ray in the near future, that a lossless soundtrack is included for both the English and Japanese audio.

Subtitles are in English SDH, French and Spanish.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"Ponyo" has a good number of special features in 1080p High Definition and 480i Standard Definition. Audio is in English 2.0 Dolby Digital and subtitles are in English SDH, French and Spanish. Special features include:

* Meet Ponyo (3:22) Executive producers Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy talk about working with Hayao Miyazaki and give a quick introduction to "Ponyo".

* Original Japanese Storyboards Watch the entire film but this time with the video showcasing the original storyboards.

* A Conversation with Hayao Miyazaki & John Lasseter (3:31) PIXAR's John Lasseter and a friend of Hayao Miyazaki talk about "Ponyo".

* Creating Ponyo (3:58) Hayao Miyazaki talks about how he came up with the concept of "Ponyo" and him wanting to create a film for children.

* Ponyo & Fujimoto (2:59) Hayao Miyazaki talks about the name "Ponyo" and the character Fujimoto.

* The Nursery (2:00) Studio Ghibli Producer Toshio Suzuki talks about Miyazaki wanting to create a children's nursery and both men made Miyazaki's dream happen by creating the Studio Ghibli Nursery.

* Producer's Perspective: Telling the Story(2:27) Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki talks about how Miyazaki works and creating the storyboards and story for "Ponyo" and more.

* The Locations of Ponyo (9:32) An excerpt from a Japanese documentary on Miyazaki's animated films and visiting the areas that inspired Miyazaki to create the village of "Ponyo".

* Scoring Miyazaki (7:19) A featurette about Joe Hisaishi's scoring Miyazaki films and more.

* Original Japanese Trailer (3:22) The original Japanese theatrical trailers.

* Behind the Microphone (6:04) Featuring the English dub voice talent talking about their role, their appreciation for Miyazaki and his films and interviews with the All-star talent.

* My Neighbor Totoro Creating My Neighbor Totoro (3:00) Miyazaki talking about the creation of his film "My Neighbor Totoro".

* Kiki's Delivery Service Creating Kiki's Delivery Service (2:27) Hayao Miyazaki discussing the creation of "Kiki's Delivery Service" and what inspired Miyazaki for the creation of the city in the film.

* Castle in the Sky: Character Sketches (2:37) Miyazaki talks about the characters of "Castle in the Sky" and discussing how his audiences are loyal to his films over time.

* Enter the Lands Visit the land featuring various small animated Studio Ghibli characters (from all films). Click on a character from that film (note: only "Ponyo", "My Neighbor Totoro", "Kiki's Delivery Service" and "Castle in the Sky" are available) to get a Q&A or a small video info. of that film and its characters.

EXTRAS:

A DVD of "Ponyo" is included with this Blu-ray release. The DVD is in Widescreen (1:85:1) Enhanced for 16×9 Televisions, English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, Japanese and French with subtitles in English SDH, French and Spanish.

JUDGMENT CALL:

Once again, Miyazaki continues to prove to us that hand-drawn animation is absolutely beautiful and there is no need to join the pack and create a CG animated film. "Ponyo" succeeds on all levels storyline, animation, music and its soundtrack. I absolutely loved this film!

Before I saw the film, I figured that people were so used to Miyazaki's more serious work and for him to try to go back to something similar to "My Neighbor Totoro" was going to be difficult in this day and age but with "Ponyo", he managed to pull it off. The world he creates is magical, the characters are just enjoyable to watch. From every scene, I was literally just loving the animation and the painted backgrounds and to find out that Miyazaki actually drew the sea and the waves himself using 170,000 separate images is amazing.

In terms of any deep messages on society or ecology, in "Ponyo", we see how trash and waste has been collecting on the ocean floors and Ponyo being stuck in a bottle lying in a wasteland under the sea. For Fujimoto, as he tries to maneuver underwater, waste and garbage is everywhere. So, it was great to see Miyazaki convey how people have mistreated the ocean with their garbage and incorporating it to the storyline.

The Blu-ray is absolutely beautiful when it comes to picture quality, lossless audio and also contains a good number of special features. If there was only one thing that prevents this Blu-ray release from reaching perfection is the lack of a lossless Japanese audio soundtrack. But both English and Japanese vocals are well-done with the English track featuring all-star talent with Tina Fey, Liam Neeson, Cate Blanchett, Betty White, Cloris Leachmen, Lily Tomlin and Matt Damon providing their voices for this film. Even Jonas Brothers sibling Frankie Jonas (as Sosuke) and Miley's younger sister Noah (as Ponyo) do a great job as the primary vocals. The Japanese soundtrack features two of Japan's top celebrities with George Tokoro lending his voice for Fujimoto and Tomoko Yamaguchi as Lisa. And also Hiroki Doi (Sosuke) and Yuria Nana (Ponyo) do a wonderful job providing the main voices for the Japanese audio track as well.

Overall, Hayao Miyazaki is truly a remarkable filmmaker and "Ponyo" is a true masterpiece. Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli show no signs of waning and they manage to capture the magic that I have felt when I was younger when I first watched Ghibli classics such as "Nausicaa", "My Neighbor Totoro", "Kiki's Delivery Service" and "Laputa: Castle in the Sky". This Blu-ray release is highly recommended!

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Miyazaki's films are refreshing for their even pacing and tempered characters. A far cry from the neurosis of Disney characters where everyone is shouting and riding on high octane. Ponyo is almost completely silent in its first 10 or 15 minutes, and even when the dialoug begins it has more of a sobering effect. If you pair that with the gorgeous hand drawn characters and hand painted backgrounds you suddenly remember what animation felt like twenty-plus years ago.

The story of Ponyo is truly Disney-esque on the surface but only on the surface. A boy, Sosuke, finds a "goldfish" trapped in a jar and frees her. He also gives her the name Ponyo. It doesn't take very long for Ponyo to develop a pet-like affinity for Sosuke, leading her to the decision that she wants to be a human. It's really that simple. The rest is Miyazaki's masterful aptitude for making the plot less important than his signature slice-of life sequences of how people relate to each other and their environment. Watching Ponyo at times feels like people-watching. And, like people watching, it all amounts to a perplexing joy.

It's strangely relaxing to watch his visually vibrant and animated characters bring color to such banalities as eating soup and ham. If you've watched Howl's Moving Castle and the delicious scene of Howl cooking bacon and eggs, then you've seen Miyazaki do this before. The man has an eye for the small details of life. This is not to say that the movie is not forward moving. There are some semblances of Western story telling. For instance, Ponyo's father who is not particularly fond of humans is constantly seeking out Ponyo to bring her back home. However, as dramatic as this may be, it's marginal to the rest of the story. Miyazaki is less interested in the need for conflict and more interested in those unexplainable things that draw two people to each other.

Read Best Reviews of Ponyo (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) (2008) Here

As soon as my daughter saw Ponyo, she fell in love with it. She loves My Neighbor Totoro, The Cat Returns, Spirited Away and Kiki's Delivery Service, so this was pretty much a safe bet with her. Getting the movie's already a good deal, but the plush Ponyo included here is of great quality, and easily beats any other Studio Ghibli plush I've seen [at least here in the US].

You can see right there in the stock picture how big Ponyo is since it's right next to the dvd in the packaging. It's made of a very soft, huggable material sure to comfort any child, and it's super cute. The material is easy to clean if anything gets dirty, and the construction is very sturdy. Of course there will be some issues with a longer 'skirt' here and there (that's quality control for you), but can you really turn away such a cute character even if it's suffering from such a thing? The plush Ponyo alone runs for about the cost of this set on most sites, so getting it included with the movie is great. While I would've liked them to give the blu-ray the same treatment, it's good to have on dvd since it's beautiful to watch on either format. And hey, most parents don't let 3 year olds handle 'expensive' movies, eh?

The dvd includes the usual special features that other Studio Ghibli dvds havean interview with Miyazaki, a short featurette and a storyboard presentation of the entire movie. This is always a very important special feature for those interested in animation, or like to see the movie in a different format and seeing how it came together before the animators stepped in. And of course, the movie's in Japanese and English with Japanese, English, Spanish and French subtitles.

If you or your child(ren) love Ponyo, this is a must. I wish Disney would've given the recent re-re-releases of Kiki's Delivery Service and My Neighbor Totoro the same kind of gift set. Now I'm kinda jealous that my daughter has her own Ponyo. Maybe I need to order one more?

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(2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)The mother Lisa has the most poignant line in "Ponyo," saying the equivalent of "When you find yourself surrounded by magic and wonder, you don't try and understand it you just enjoy it."

To me, that is the theme and lesson of "Ponyo" ("Gake no Ue no Ponyou" or "Ponyo on the Cliffs"). After dabbling in darker themes and more adult-orientated fare like Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away, Miyazaki has returned to the lighter, simpler themes of the magic and mystery of childhood as found in his groundbreaking My Neighbor Totoro. One can always tell the target audience for a Miyazaki film by the age of the main character: "Spirited Away" was made for 10-year olds, "Princess Mononoke" was made for teenagers. The lead characters in "Ponyo" are 5 years old.

Like "My Neighbor Totoro," "Ponyo" is a film based on a childlike sense of joy and imagination. There is no need for a "villain" or some arbitrary conflict or threat for the children to overcome. Like Satsuki and Mei, Sosuke and Ponyo are pure at heart, and open to exploring the wonders around them. They feel their emotions without cynicism or thought, instead living in the moment and experiencing its joys, sorrows and fears.

Which is not to say there is no depth here. In "Ponyo," Miyazaki has blended two unlikely sources; Richard Wagner's pounding opera Die Walkure from Der Ring Des Nibelungen and Hans Christian Anderson's melancholy fairy tale The Little Mermaid. The essential set-up comes from "Die Walkure," where the god Wotan holds the goddess Freia captive, and is also the possessor of the Rhinegold Ring which grants vast magical powers so long as one gives up all possibility of love. As a nod to this, the name Ponyo is giving by her father is Brünnhilde, one of the Valkyrie who feels the power of the Ring and must make the choice between love and paradise. This story is skillfully blended with Anderson's "Little Mermaid," about a sea creature who must win the love of a human or be reduced to soulless sea foam.

Miyazaki essentially presents two movies. The front film is basic, colorful and easy to understand for children. The animation in "Ponyo" is some of the best that I have ever seen, with Miyazaki personally drawing much of the underwater and ocean scenes, utilizing the influence of classic Japanese ukiyo-e pictures. Miyazaki has said that "Ponyo" is his most technically complicated film, using more unique images than any previous film.

The second, deeper story is something that can only be assembled from fragments and snatches of conversation. For example, the wizard Fujimoto, Ponyo's father, was a human being who fell in love with the ocean goddess Gran Mammare, and struggled for centuries to burn away his humanity and become consort and protector for the entity he loved. More than anyone, he understands the sacrifices and struggles awaiting Ponyo when she loves someone not of her world. These story/sub-story elements are one of the things I love so much about Japanese film, where more expectations are put on the audience to read between the lines and to give thought to the unspoken as well as the spoken

I am not sure how much of this deeper story survived the translation into English, as I watched the film in Japanese. There are some nuances that probably went missing, and I am curious as to how some of the scenes were handled, such as when Lisa sings Sosuke a part of the theme song to "My Neighbor Totoro" to cheer him up when his father is not home. Some other things, such as the significance of tunnels in Japanese folklore (considered the realm of female Mountain Gods who are prone to jealousy, it is assumed that the tunnel would not take kindly to a water deity passing through. However, outside the tunnel is a statue of Jizo, the protector of children, which sends a visual clue to the audience that Sosuke and Ponyo are going to be alright.) also might pass unnoticed or appear confusing to Western audiences, although every Japanese person would inately understand this without needing to be told.

Miyazaki proved in "Ponyo" that he is still the greatest director of animated films alive. I am so thrilled to have seen this movie, and I know I will watch it again and again.

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Parenthood (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy) (1989)

Steve Martin is top billed in this film and he is excellent but the rest of the cast is just as good. This movie is actually divided into four separate parts-four different branch off's of the same family (the father, his kids and their families)-that allows this fine ensemble to portray all the ups and downs of family life. It is a film that teaches without preaching and it's lesson is clearly understood: in life, you can't have the peaks without the valleys. And because of it every character comes to stark realizations about themselves and their relationships with other people. All the characters, that is, except the one played by Tom Hulce. But even that character is correctly written; it just simply isn't the right time for him to realize.The interactions between the father (Jason Robards) and his two sons (Hulce and Martin) tell us much about all three characters' past, present and future. Unfortunately there isn't any interaction between the father and the two daughters, played by Martha Plimpton and Dianne Wiest, but with so many characters to deal with and so many ties to bind, there simply wasn't time. But the time the writers have is well spent indeed. Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel have taken a very basic idea and expanded on it in a realistic and original way. It's no wonder that all the characters are tied together so perfectly in the end.Ron Howard has taken that script and directed these tremendous performers to superlative work. Very seldom have any of them been better. Martin shines in an everyman IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE portrayal of the father of three and the second oldest child of the four earlier mentioned. Not since ROXANNE had he given a performance of such range and depth. Dianne Wiest as his older sister won another Oscar nomination and is just as good as she was in HANNAH AND HER SISTERS. Martha Plimpton as the next oldest child is fine as a mother torn between her high-tech-education-supporter-husband (Moranis, his best work since LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS) and her young childhood deprived daughter. Tom Hulce is the youngest of Jason Robards' four kids and has the toughest role to play. He wasn't given the one-liners the others have. His character isn't likeable. His father obviously favors him at first, which is hard for the rest of the family as well as the audience to understand. But he portrays the character as it should be played-a wanderer with unstoppable dreams who is also to be pitied. Robards' portrayal of the father is one of his best and should have garnered him another Oscar nomination. Through Robards' father character we see how his kids turned out the way they did. And we see him growing and learning as he finds you CAN teach an old dog new tricks. Joaquin Phoenix, here billed as Leaf (River's kid brother as Wiest's youngest) and Helen Shaw as Grandma, the matriarch of the family are also excellent. Keanu Reeves (Wiest's son-in-law) and Mary Steenburgen (Martin's wife) round out the cast beautifully. Randy Newman's score is perfect and the song "I Love to See You Smile" is very infectious.Pulling everything together for a production is not an easy thing. When you couple that with the fact that in this movie, comedy and drama are blended together seemlessly, Howard and his cast and crew have created a true treasure. Being a perfect parent is not easy. Being a perfect person is impossible. If you are anything less, see this movie.

Personal experience with the changes that children brought to their lives inspired director Ron Howard and writers Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Madel to write this comic take on the challenges of family. Steve Martin plays Gil Buckman, a good-humored husband and father whose dissatisfaction with his own childhood makes him try all the harder to ensure the happiness and success of his own children, as his extended family struggles with their own offspring. Gil, his sisters' families and the elder Buckman's, his parents, try to find the "right" thing to do for their children while dealing with the demands of spouses, life's ill-timed inconveniences, their own aspirations, and each other.

"Parenthood" is a laugh-out-loud look at the perils and rewards of family. Everyone will recognize someone they know in the imperfect children, crazy relatives, and inevitable dysfunctional family member. The film's charm is its familiarity. And it's nice to see characters that don't react to every disappointment by trying to control everyone involved. The cast is wonderful. Gil, the earnest, lovable, and slightly neurotic father, is the perfect role for Steve Martin. In notable supporting roles, Jason Robards is suitably cantankerous as the family patriarch, and Keanu Reeves is affable as a flakey boyfriend. "Parenthood" is funny, realistic, and a great stress-reliever for anyone who has had it up to the gills with family.

The DVD: Bonus features include "Production Notes", which is an essay about the inspiration and creation of the film, and "Cast and Filmmakers", which provides written bios of the director and principal cast. Subtitles are available in Spanish, captioning in English. And dubbing is available in French.

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"Parenthood" boasts of one of the best casts ever assembled. The writing is sharp and witty, the editing perfect, and the acting superb. My favorites are the always amazing Dianne Wiest, who's comedic timing is flawless, a young and lovable Keanu Reeves, and Helen Shaw, who plays "Grandma". This is a comedy that endures because it has a great big heart.

Read Best Reviews of Parenthood (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy) (1989) Here

I just watched "Parenthood" again for the umpteenth time, and it still carries an emotional wallop.

The film revolves around several generations of the Buchman family, and though they might, in some other films be considered 'dysfunctional,' in this movie their pitfalls are simply offered as a slice of real life.

The family patriarch is Frank Buchman (Jason Robards). Among his four children are Gil (Steve Martin), a modestly-successful though rather tightly-wound businessman with three children of his own... one of whom is a fragile eight-year-old boy who frequently breaks into hysterics --whether because he dropped a fly-ball and lost a baseball game for the team, or was simply terrified when the house blew a fuse.

Buchman's other son is a complete loser and manipulator named Larry (Tom Hulce), who shows up for a family dinner after (we learn) an absence of some three-plus years. Larry carries some serious baggage, including, but not limited to a gang of mobsters who are quite interested in being paid back for a rather substantial gambling debt.

Buchman's two daughters include Helen (Diane Wiest), whose own daughter played by Martha Plimpton is a high-school girl dating a house painter-cum-drag racer (Keanu Reeves), and whose 12-year-old son Gary (Leaf -now, JoaquinPhoenix) has withdrawn into himself and his padlocked room. Buchman's other daughter Susan is married to Nathan (Rick Moranis), a PhD of some sort who turns every waking moment and event into an educational opportunity for their four-year-old daughter --a girl who consequently has no capacity to relate to other four-year-olds, but who evidently has memorized the periodic table of elements, and understands words like "pragmatic."

One of the most priceless characters is "Grandma" (apparently, though never actually stated to be Jason Robards' mother). A sweet, and perceptive woman, nothing fazes her... including a scene where a hidden cache of porno flics is discovered. As she's led out of the room by her daughter, we hear her comment: "One of those young men reminded me of your grandfather!"

Grandma's monologue on rollercoasters and merry-go-rounds (and how they are an analogue for life), is one of the best moments in film... not just in THIS film, but one of the best moments in film, period. I have seen the movie easily over a dozen times, and it still slays me every time she starts to speak.

Parenthood is not to be missed.

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How good is the Movie? I liked it so much I bought the DVD. The characters and situations are realistic and you can really empathize with their shortcomings and problems. You'll fall over laughing at the "Electric Ear Cleaner" scene...

Unfortunately Universal managed to ruin the DVD release of the movie. I've gotten so used to DVDs being letterboxed that I didn't even check only to find that the DVD has ONLY the pan and scan version. Any release of a movie that starts off by throwing away a third of the image is doomed in my opinion. So now I'm stuck with a great movie ruined by some thoughtless movie executive.

If they ever bother to release a widescreen version I'd sell this defective pan and scan piece of trash and buy the GOOD version. If you like the pan and scan format then you can ignore me and enjoy the movie :)

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Forbidden Zone (Arrow Video) (1982)

This movie is weird, period. It's got an Eraserhead vibe (probably from the black/white), and I pick up Un Chien Andalou, probably from having no idea what's coming next. The dark frame corners of the B/W stock also evoke the early parts of The Wizard of Oz, conjuring dread and foreboding. Other than that, leave your film references behind, and set your mind for new experience.

You've got to watch this film at least twice, ideally a couple weeks apart, before you decide that it's the worst film you've ever seen (a typical first reaction). Now, the weirdest movie you've ever seen--yeah, that's a spot-on description-but it's not the worst, by far. Save that crucial tag for Madonna's desecration of Swept Away, John Wayne in The Conqueror, Caddyshack 2.

I saw this B/W classic for the first time in a 1984 university film class. The prof warned us that it was racist, misogynistic, anti-Semitic, violent, vulgar and scatological (her words). And she was and remains exactly right. I sat through the 73-odd minutes of this thing (shown on film, no less), and when it was over I wasn't quite sure what I'd seen. I remember a strange and heavy feeling of dread and confusion that hung with me for a few days, like I'd seen something deeply disturbing but couldn't yet make sense of it. But I'd also laughed, hard, at a number of the scenes in the film.

It wasn't until a good ten years later I got my hands on a bootleg VHS copy, and I bought my own copy (signed!) from the Richard Elfman web site two years ago. It was only on second and subsequent viewings that I figured out exactly what the story was, and then really started to see the subtlety of the film, to appreciate and enjoy it more.

It opens in the kitchen at breakfast, with the family in intentionally awful stage makeup, sitting in mismatched chairs on a set with ultra low-budge hand-painted elementary school play backdrops. The psychotic mom gets knocked cold by dad when she talks too much. Then they have to tie up Grandpa before the kids go to school. And that's in the first couple of minutes.

Then school, where the scenes are pure nightmare, just chaos, with the grotesque images of the teacher and students, hideous caricatures of kids that I knew, and you'll recognize as well. Then in the middle of this highly disorienting scene comes the "Alphabet Song/Swinging the Alphabet," with the "F" and "G" verses corrupted thoroughly and hilariously.

Then we descend to the underworld and by way of introduction to the Sixth Dimension, watch two guys in jock straps sing a goofy song in a boxing ring, followed by a frog-headed guy doing some soft-shoe, and a seriously creepy version of "Bim Bam Boom."

The crass racial and ethnic stereotypes flit in and out, amateurish, really, in their insertion, and having little relation to the movie itself. Right at the beginning there's a black-face guy, described as local pimp Huckleberry P. Jones, with his bad suit and boxing gloves, no less. The Hercules patriarch has a horribly dubbed Yiddish accent, and we even run across Jewish money lenders down in the Sixth Dimension. I don't really get their placement or function in the film, other than visual distraction, or misfiring attempts at comedy.

And some violence. A guy gets shot at school, although it's pantomime-corny. There is some serious fisticuffs, but it's also hammy. A knife goes right through a thigh, but it's a cheezy effect. But when Grandpa Hercules fights the gorilla he ends up literally bashing its head into ground meat, and that's a pretty disturbing close-up, even in B/W. The queen gets shot, somewhat graphically, with a little bit of blood. The two queens end up at the bottom of the pit, their bodies run through with steel blades. And Squeezit loses his head, although he doesn't really die, and the head even sprouts wings to flit around as a cheezy Sixth Dimension mascot.

And some nudity. The excruciatingly nubile Princess wears nothing but tight high-rise briefs, pumps, and gloves for the entire film. There's a wacky kind of topless cattle drive of young ladies, comical and erotic in its own strange way. There's a lot of comically strange/strangely comical frottage going on, mostly Flash and Gramps grabbing various Sixth Dimension denizens. Nothing graphic at all, but the MPAA would call it sexual content.

And fun with trivia: 1) Uber-nerds will recognize the Forbidden Zone theme as that from the short-lived Dilbert TV show from a few years back; 2) Music nerds also will recognize an original recording of "Pico and Sepulveda," which was for many decades the backing/theme song of the Doctor Demento radio show (The Very Best of Dr. Demento).

Lastly, get that soundtrack (Forbidden Zone). If you like a good mix of music, you'll love the CD. If you're expecting raw Oingo Boingo, you'll be disappointed. Sure, they're there, but not in the kind of depth and orchestration you're probably looking for. There's a couple old-timey tunes ("Bim Bam Boom," "Some of These Days"), lots of Danny Elfman's original score, and the sorrowfully too-short "Squeezit The Moocher." For whatever sad reason, "Pico and Sepulveda" is not included in this release.

Bottom line: This is just one of those cult films you have to be able to say you've seen. If you're looking for slick production and deep, deep artistic symbolism and staging, you'll be hugely disappointed. You may not like it at first, it being more confusing than anything, but if you've got an open mind and tend toward black humor, and if you watch it more than once, you'll enjoy it. If you're looking for something seriously off the wall, a film like none other you've ever seen, then this is the one you've been waiting for.

It's a good day when "Forbidden Zone" gets a DVD release! Better yet, this is a valuable addition to the Fantoma disc, and not really a substitution.

I don't normally purchase or even watch colorized versions of black and white films, but Richard Elfman seemed to make a compelling case that he intended "Forbidden Zone" to be released in color. I certainly do not begrudge the man for making a living, and he honors our pocketbooks by making the new release different enough to warrant a look.

In the color version, one notices details that aren't as readily apparent as in the original black and white version. The sets seem to be made of cardboard and butcher block paper that is clear in the original version, but is blazingly obvious in the colorized version.

Colorization aside, how is this version different? This DVD is lacking the commentary of the original release, the documentary and the isolated score (this is bad.) On the plus side, the new DVD has a DTS 5.1 track, and a promo for a Japanese audience. However, the deal-maker is the pop-up trivia that is truly interesting although somewhat redundant of the previous DVD director's commentary.

The colorization is quite good (who knew French's bathrobe was yellow), and adds to the surreal quality of the picture instead of being a distraction.

I don't normally like double DVD releases, but in this case I will make a strong exception. Recommended!

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Once upon a time, way back in the 1970?s, there was a magical land called Southern California. It was in this place that two brothers, Richard and Danny Elfman, devised an avant-garde musical comedy troupe, called The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo. In 1980, they decided to form a loose story based around some of their performance pieces and make a movie. That movie is the legendary Forbidden Zone. Since my fourteen-year old vhs tape of this movie is rotting on the shelf as I write this, I couldn?t be happier to see its release on dvd.

Okay, the film is a certified nut case of a movie, filmed over the course of maybe a week in and around the LA area. It?s in black and white, not because of any artistic vision ? it was just cheaper that way. But it works ? the film is a (tribute, send up?) of 1930?s era musicals, with standout music by Josephine Baker and Cab Calloway and centers around the Hercules family and the strange portal to the 6th Dimension that exists in their basement. The world this takes place in is filled with strange imagery, amazing music, and more oddities than a sane person could hope to count. We have a human-size dancing frog, jockstrap-clad Kipper Kids, Herv? Villechaize as the king of the 6th Dimension, a chicken-boy who is able to communicate telepathically with his transvestite brother, Joe Spinell as a drunker sailor, classroom violence, a Jewish wrestler fighting a guy in an ape suit, and Danny Elfman playing Satan while singing ?Minnie the Moocher.? You get the idea; this is not a normal film. Although it borrows from the works of Olsen & Johnson (Hellzapoppin? & Crazy House), this is still a truly unique cinema experience.

The advance word from Richard Elfman is that this dvd will have a re-mastered print of the film, deleted scenes, interviews, and archival footage! For any fan of Danny Elfman, Oingo Boingo, or just incredibly strange films made by talented people, you simply can?t miss this one.

Read Best Reviews of Forbidden Zone (Arrow Video) (1982) Here

Forbidden Zone could be the most eye-openingly bizarre film ever made, surpassing even Eraserhead. The fact that it is cheaply made and often inept is most definitely an asset in a world this surreal conventional filmmaking techniques would seem out of place. In any case, there is no question that anyone interested in underground movies needs to purchase this. Its dismissal by critics and its unpopularity have both been unfair hamperings on its reputation. In actuality, its artistic vision is as singular and imaginative as Eraserhead's, or any cult classic for that matter. Rarely has cardboard been the vehicle for such a visionary production design.

There is so much to take note of but I would single out the 'Bim bam boom' musical number with the mumbling boxers, the inexplicable antics in the classroom, and Danny Elfman's totally suave appearance as Satan towards the end as truly classic moments in the world of cult movies. They manage to be disturbingly surreal and amusingly silly and cartoonish at the same time. I want to extend my recommendation beyond the intellectuals and outsiders; even more conventionally-minded people may be taken in by Forbidden Zone's utter loopiness and triumphant imagination.

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This is an awesome find and collector's dream. The film, about a porthole to the Sixth Dimension and a most unusual family's discovery of it, is a bizarre low budget delight in b&w featuring original music by Oingo Boingo and vintage music by Cab Calloway and Miguelito Valdez. Another reviewer pretty much summed things up but I'd like to mention that if you're a fan of the late, great Susan Tyrrell, she's on fine display here. She plays the wicked Queen of the Sixth Dimension and sings a great song "Witch's Egg" which she also helped compose. Herve Villechaize is the King ("He's a little man but he carries a big stick"), Marie-Pascale Elfman, Viva, Toshiro Baloney and the Kipper Kids also star. This little gem is obviously not for everyone, but if you've never seen it it's worth a look. For fans of "Forbidden Zone" it's debut on DVD is a celebration. I've had the soundtrack on a Varese Sarabande CD for some time and my VHS tape is long gone. I'm truly looking forward to this release. Enjoy.

Indiana Jones The Complete Adventures (Limited Edition Collectors Set) Blu-ray (2012)

This is about the best and coolest blu ray set I have ever seen. Here's why:

Pros

1. All movies are all on blu ray, certified with the best quality assurance

2. The movies are clearer than I can remember them. I've seen the VHS editions a lot of times.

3. The sound is top notch. A lot of the time I had to turn the volume down

4. The approx. 6 hours of bonus features are priceless. They have all the bonus features from the DVD editions plus brand new ones that cover the production of all four movies

5. The trinkets if you can't see from the pictures include:

A. Condensed version of The Lost Journal of Indiana Jones

B. Five production pictures

C. A book of matches from Club Obi Wan

D. Film cell from Indy's encounter with the cobra

E. Two tickets to the Zepplin from Last Crusade

F. Ticket to the Pan Am Clipper in Raiders

G. Grail rubbing

6. For you purists out there, there are NO changes what so ever

Cons

1. None.

Thank you! I had been wanting a good collection of Blu-Rays with all four movies and I finally got it!

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Incendies (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) (2011)

INCENDIES began as a play of the same name by Wajdi Mouawad and was opened up as only cinema can do by the author with the assistance of Canadian director Denis Villeneuve and consultant Valérie Beaugrand-Champagne. The result is a staggeringly powerful film whose story is so well revealed by a cast of sterling actors that telling too much of the plot would be a disservice to those who come to this experience for the first time. In this viewer's opinion it is simply one of the finest films of the decade and it bound to become a permanent part of the cinematic library.

The opening of the film reveals many clues as to the direction the story will take. In a stark room young boys are having their hair shorn: one of the boys as a tattoo on his heal three aligned dots on the Achilles tendon. After this unsettling beginning the camera moves to Canada in the office of notary Jean Lebel (Rémy Girard) who has the responsibility of executing the will of his secretary Nawal Marwan (Lubna Azabal in an illuminating performance that plays through the entire film) and presenting the will to Nawal's Lebanese-Canadian twin children Jeanne (Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin) and Simon (Maxim Gaudette) Marwan. The will divides Nawal's worldly goods equally between the children, but describes in detail how the deceased mother is to be buried (naked, face down, with no coffin in an unmarked grave) and provides two letters charging Jeanne and Simon to find the father and brother they did not even know existed. The remainder of the film moves back and forth between the past and the present as the twins attempt to find their living relatives and the story of how Nawal's life was an unbelievable nightmare. Nawal was a Christian Lebanese, had a lover who was a Palestinian, and when her lover is killed she realizes she is pregnant, shaming her family and thus forced to give up her boy child to an orphanage but not before her grandmother sensitively tattooed the three dots on his heel for future recognition. From that point Nawal becomes a mathematician, a hired killer, is imprisoned and tortured and once again becomes a mother. The twins trace clues as detectives to follow the rocky road of Nawal's life and make discoveries that are astonishing.

Though Lubna Azabal is clearly the central star of this film, the entire cast particularly Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin and Maxim Gaudette as the twins is exemplary. Very little of the tragedy of Nawal's life is spared but the power that comes from the moments of discovery of the truths of that life lies in the quiet shock in the eyes of the twins. This is an amazingly powerful film that keeps the audience tension level high making the surprising ending just that much more powerful. The cinematography by André Turpin manages to capture both the vast power of the Middle Eastern desert and villages as well as the moments of intimacy. The musical score by Grégoire Hetzel enhances the atmosphere and the story line very subtlely. But in the end it is the sensitive direction of Denis Villeneuve that brings with human tragedy of a story alive. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, September 11

To begin with, this is a foreign language film with English subtitles. It will appeal, above all, to viewers who might be drawn to original, story-driven cinematography complimented by rich cultural details. It also provides exceptional panoramic and intimate shots of a bustling Middle Eastern country generally shrouded in mystery. In fact, I've seen a lot of films, but I don't think I've ever come across a plot/story that even comes close to the one depicted in "Incendies".

The title of my review will give you the nexus. Although the film's religious conflict deals with the historic competition and horrific violence bewteen Christian and Muslim Arabs, it also includes a "special feature" in which current day residents of the region are interviewed--some of whom vow death and eternal vengeance on "The Jews". So--everybody's covered in this one.

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Powerful, intriguing. For mature audiences who can handle traumatic and violent subject matter and scenes.

Not a gratuitous film, and there is no propaganda here (If so, it was not obvious to me).

I watched this film twice and believe I might purchase it and watch it some more.

Highly recommended for film watchers who need something to "up the ante" and break out of the boring routine mold.

Read Best Reviews of Incendies (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) (2011) Here

I rented "Incendies" because it was a nominee for the Best Foreign Language Oscar. I've seen a lot of good films from that category and "Incendies" is one of the best. This film is not for the weak of heart. It deals with the basest of human failures and it leaves the viewer emotionally exhausted. However, the film is well worth watching for many reasons. The acting, although not outstanding, is very good. The various characters are victims of different abuses yet most of them carry an innocence that is well-displayed. There is a variety of locations and a variety of cultural settings and issues that are very engrossing, sometimes almost too engrossing. The back and forth from present to past is very well done and greatly enhances the the suspense of the movie.

The ultimate message that I took from "Incendies" was the depth to which hatred can destroy otherwise decent people. The innocence I previously mentioned about some of the characters is a key to the success of "Incendies". In a war-torn Lebanon there are good and bad but it is the innocents that make us take a personal involvement in the events that take place. What do we do with that involvement? Do we fight or flee or do we just ignore? There's not much you can ignore in "Incendies".

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First, don't pay attention to the reviews dating from 2004. They are NOT discussing "Incendies". Next, be sure to see it in the theater for maximum impact. There are some very emotional scenes, but very little violence, which is amazing, considering what was happening in Lebanon in the '70's.

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Short Circuit 2 (1988)

I've been a long-time fan of Short Circuit and it's sequel, Short Circuit 2. When it comes to DVD's, I'm there! They're great in so many ways. The Short Circuit DVD is great in some ways, but definately could've been better.

First off, the film transfer is pretty good. For the first time ever, I was able to watch the film in widescreen, while before I was only able to view the "fitted to TV" 3:4 aspect ratio (for any fans of the 3:4 picture, this DVD IS double-sided and HAS the 3:4 picture size version as well). The colours are vibrant (but not too vibrant), the picture is sharp, and there are only a few blemishes and dirt marks on the film. The sound was great! Sure, it hadn't been remastered in Dolby 5.1, but it still was Dolby Surround. The music was MUCH clearer than what was heard on the VHS version. Many areas of the film's musical score which were barely audible before were very clear on the DVD.

Here's the bit of down-side to this DVD: there are hardly any extras. The making-of featurette is at most five minutes long, and though we do get to see that Fisher Stevens is very unlike his character Ben Jarhvi, it ends very abruptly. The movie trailer section doesn't even include the Short Circuit 2 trailer. It would have been nice if more extras had been inserted, like the Short Circuit Special Edition DVD.

If you're a fan of Short Circuit though, you should get this DVD. It's more worth it than getting the VHS version :)

It would probably be much like this; two everyman protagonists, themes of loneliness and isolation and yearning, a robot who is far more humane than his human counterparts...

Unlike the first Short Circuit Movie where there wasn't much time to explore the character of Jonhhy Five, or invest the machine with character, the second film does just that and it does it very well. The viewer's suspension of disbelief is fully engagedeven as an adult I find myself lulled into feeling a deep sesne of pathos and compassion for Number Johnny Five. This is in part due to an amazing pre-CGI special effects/machine team and also due to the exceptionally unselfconscious acting of the human cast: Fisher Stevens ((the bad guye from hackers)) is truly phenomenal as Ben Jharvi, an Indian ((I think)) computer programmer who is as inept at expressing his feelings as Johnny Five is as understanding his own); Michael McKean and Cynthia Gibb are also great (McKean is perfect as a petty conman who betrays and then saves Johnny Five). The actors did an amazing job interacting with the machine and their performances add subtly dazzling layers of humor and sentiment to whta could have been a really awful movie but instead becomes a marvelous thing to watch.

OK. The script is somewhat shoddy at times and the pacing is not so well-handled. There are some dead-end scenes, but for the most part everything really hangs together wellJohnny Five stumbles through several mishaps trying to understand why humans behave as they do and why he feels what he feels. Oh, there's a chase scene set to the godawful "I need a hero," song. The kitschy 80's pop score wears a tad thin afterawhile. But then, this is a kid film at heart, and a rather unique one at that.

One scene always breaks my heart, one of my all-time favorite poignant scenes: Johnny five, after being caught by the cops, is taken and chained in the police basementthe stolen property room. He is slowly reading two books, page by page. His friends come to have him releasedwhen allowed to leave he breaks his chains easily and sadly leaves (you see, he could have left at anytime had he wanted to; there's some Sadean undertones in how #J5 repeatedly allows himself to be demeaned and debased and almost destroyed by humans without fighting back lethallywhich he easily could... a postmodern and mechanical kin to Justine, perhaps).

The books he was so slowly reading were Pinochio and Frankenstein. It always slays me, just like the Rockbiter's monologue in The Never Ending Story ("They look like big, strong hands...").

This one is so much better, in my opinion, than Spielberg's execrable A.I., if only in that Stevie over-reached himself (again) on that crite film; trying to make a 'serious' film about 'serious' issues... and then he tacked on a completely odious ending.

This film has no such pretensionsit mostly aims at fun. Because of that it achieves more than most serious cinema struggling with the same themes of technology and identity.

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What to do now there's no more Short Circuit movies to watch? Why was there never a third? And why, apart from Johnny 5, was Fisher Stevens the only original character brought back?

Those were only minor quibbles for a great movie. And the god awful cover art, which the more I look at, the more I hate. But then they could have done worse. It could have been a white background with the two main characters photoshopped in.

I really enjoyed the first Short Circuit movie. The second? Even better. With more fun from Johnny, including even more interaction with Ben (Fisher Stevens), and more fun-ness, including making the toy Johnny 5's dance, and more, Short Circuit betters the first.

I was kinda disappointed that Stephany didn't reappear for the second movie, she was a bit of a miss, and was only mentioned a couple of times, apart from a voice recording but at least she wasn't completely forgotten about.

What's good about reading other reviewer's ... reviews is that the amount of people is saw this when they were young. I always seem to get introduced to these movies a lot later in life for example I'm a nearly mid-twenty something and seeing this for the first time. What would it have been like to see it as a child? That, I can only dream about.

Short Circuit 2 pretty much follows on from the first, with Ben now in the big city, trying to sell his toy Johnny's on the street, next to a fake Rolex selling vendor. A toy buyer, Sandy, stumbles across a toy Johnny after it 'escapes' and brings it back. Talk of money is banded about, and next thing Ben knows, he needs to make 1000, in 31 days. With the fake Rolex selling vendor, Fred (Michael McKean) as his partner. But bad guys want to break into a bank to steal some priceless jewels, but how are they going to do it? The rest is predictable, but fun.

Jack Weston appears as one of the bad guys, who befriends Johnny, in order to get him on his side, finding out he is incredibly naive. For any eighties rom-com fan will recognise him from Dirty Dancing, as Max Kellerman. (For anyone who hasn't seen this or Dirty Dancing, boy do you need some education!) Short Circuit 2 actually appears to have been Jack Weston's last movie before he died from lymphoma in 1996.

I'm disappointed there was never another Short Circuit movie. And another one. And another one. And another one. It could have been a great franchise. But what's good is normally best left to a minimum, before it loses its glow. Short Circuit didn't pander to the major franchising deals, the endless mindless sequels, and instead left the world a different place with just the two films.

Now where do I buy a little Johnny 5?

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I saw the original Short Circuit when it first came out and recently bought it on DVD. I enjoyed it just as much and found that age had not dimmed the humour. I had no idea a sequel had been made until Amazon emailed me to let me know (that is a great service by the way). Normally sequels are a letdown so I was in two minds whether to order it or not but thought, why not as the price was right. I am pleased that I did as again I thoroughly enjoyed it and can honestly say that the sequel is just as good as the original. Without giving away the storyline, there are some sad moments where I was amazed to find myself empathising with a robot!!

This is one of those movies that while lightweight, do make you feel good after watching them and I do believe that we need a dash of this every now and again.

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In the first "Short Circuit" film, Number Five was viewed as more of a prop than a character. While the story revolved around a robot coming to life, the story seemed to focus more on the reactions of the people it interacted with than the robot himself. In this film, Number Five (who has adopted the name "Johnny Five") is a main character. He is given more of a personality, a bigger sense of humor, but most importantly, he is given emotion. Johnny Five knows he is alive, but he struggles throughout the film trying to prove it to the rest of the world.

Humor is not the main goal in this film (although it does exist); the movie is more of a drama. You almost forget that the main character who gets depressed with the fact that no one will accept him is a robot.

While not as funny as the first one, what the film lacks in humor it makes up with feeling. You'll even cry as Johnny is confronted by a group of thugs (I won't spoil it for you). That's not to say that there aren't good jokes along the way (one in particular when Ben, who already struggles with English, is prompted by Johnny Five while attempting to woo a girl).

Another plus with this film is the presence of muliple plots. This gives the movie a faster pace than the original. Ben, J5's co-creator, is attempting to break into the toy business (with some help from con man Michael McKean); two thugs, using Ben's warehouse as a means of breaking into the vault across the street, are terrorizing the two would-be toy makers; and Ben is struggling to win the love of a girl who sees him as nothing more than just a toy maker. There is nothing to bog this film down, and in the end, all the plots come together nicely.

All in all, this is a GREAT movie!!!

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Lola Montes (The Criterion Collection) (1905)

"Lola Montes" was German director Max Orphuls' first film in color, first in Cinemascope, and his last film. Due to its terrible reception in Paris in 1955, the film was re-cut twice -once by Orphuls and once by the producersin attempts to make it more palatable to audiences. It was the most expensive European film ever made when it was released, so it was a notable flop. The first attempt to restore the "Lola Montes" to its original cut was made in 1968 from an incomplete print. The version on Criterion Collection 2010 DVD is a complete restoration, completed under the leadership of La Cinémathèque française in 2008.

This has long been a film appreciated more by filmmakers than by audiences. It appeals either to those who scrutinize its camerawork or who can place it in the context of film history or of Max Orphuls' work. That said, and although the film is technically interesting, I found it quite watchable. "Lola Montes" was the stage name of Elisabeth Rosanna Gilbert, a famed Spanish dancer, courtesan, and mistress of King Ludwig I of Bavaria in the 1840s. Orphuls reduces her to a circus attraction in middle age, taking impertinent questions from the audience and recreating her scandalous life on stage through absurd tableaux vivants and dangerous stunts.

In fact, Lola Montes was never in a circus, and Orphuls hits the viewer over the head with his condemnation of exploitation and objectification, represented by Lola's (Martine Carol) circus act and its callous ringmaster (Peter Ustinov). I can't help but think this is at least partly responsible for the film's poor reception. As a rule, movies that scold, accuse, or condemn their own audiences are not popular. When Orphuls shames the audience of that circus, they are stand-ins for the film's audience. But the circus is something to see, as we watch Lola's adventures acted out by this bizarre company and in flashback as Lola recalls the events of her life.

Martine Carol was not Max Orphuls' choice for the role, and she is wooden. That's appropriate in the circus scenes, less so in the flashbacks. I think the real Lola Montes must have had more personality, but since this is a film about spectacle, not drama, Carol's limited acting skills don't hinder its ambitions. It takes liberties with Lola Montes biography, but it wasn't intended to be a biopic. Although Orphuls undoubtedly meant for "Lola Montes" to comment on exploitation, it could just as easily be a comment on celebrity, which might be more timely in the 21st century. Lola Montes used celebrity, and it used her. In French and German with optional English subtitles.

The DVDs (Criterion Collection 2010 2-disc set): On Disc 1 are the film and a feature commentary by Max Orphuls scholar Susan White, recorded in 2008. She discusses the film's history, composition, camerawork, making the film, its context in Orphuls oeuvre, and themes. On Disc 2, there is a 1965 episode of the French television program "Cinéastes de notre temps" (53 min) that features some of Orphuls collaborators. "Max by Marcel" (33 min) is a documentary by Marcel Orphuls about his father. There is some footage (1 min) of Martine Carol demonstrating hairstyles from the film. And there is a theatrical trailer for the restored version from Rialto Pictures. Subtitles are available in English.

The movie itself was great, but the transfer is extremly diaappointing, considering that Fox Lorber acquired it recently after Home Vision Cinema lost the video rights. Fox Lorber could have gone through new tranfers and a color and sound restoration, as they reportedly done with their new Truffaut releases on video and DVD (or it could've done by the French and picked up by convience and after Criterion lost their rights to the films, anyway, Fox Lorber claimed to have done "new translation").

The video and sound quailty is extremely poor that colors changed throughout a scene and the audio is quite low accompanied by tics and hisses. Fox Lorber did a disservice to everyone since this is the one and only source many of us have to watch the film. (As a side note, the director's cut, with a running time around 140 minutes, is rarely seen after it was butchered for a shorter running time since the production company was on the verge of bankruptcy as the movie failed to make any profit. This was done, sadly, when Ophuls was on his deathbed).

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...Fox-Lorber can be credited with sly only, for releasing this lack of quality even Madacy would be ashamed of.

The 1 star is because of this release. Maybe they don't know yet that DVD technology allow for subtitles as a choice option, and maybe their budget was too short to get them right (one quarter is accurate, one quarter is approximate, one quarter is absolute fancy, and one quarter has escaped translation. But the worse is the (absence of) quality of the picture which is perfectly matched by a botched soundtrack.

Until Criterion or some real professional in DVD business will take care of getting this released as it should be, better to avoid this one.

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I can hardly believe how bad the quality of the Fox-Lorber DVD version of this film is. I have the privilege of access to a local University library with an extensive laserdisc and DVD collection, so I was able to see both this DVD version and the criterion collection's out of print laserdisc edition of this film. The difference between the quality of the dated laserdisc and this DVD was like night and day the laserdisc was incomporably better. Why Fox-Lorber does not simply pay for the Criterion print is beyond me. For Fox-Lorber to buy the DVD rights to this film and then release a version of such shamefully low quality is ridiculous it seems to me alogical, as if though it would have made more sense for Fox-Lorber never to aquire the rights at all. In truth, because I enjoy this film so much, I feel that this DVD is an act of wanton cruelty on Fox Lorber's part. I would advise discriminating viewers to avoid this DVD; I despair because I can now not own a copy of the film for myself in the forseeable future.

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If Lola Montes were alive today I'm sure she would be a tabloid sensation or perhaps a reality television star famous for her notoriety. Born Eliza Gilbert, she reinvented herself during the late 1800s and tried her hand at singing, acting and dancing failing miserably at all three. What she lacked in talent, however, she more than made up for in sex appeal. Rumours swirled around her about various lovers and Bavaria's Ludwig I bestowed upon her the title of Countess of Landsfeld. She challenged her critics to duels and dared to smoke in public.

In short, Montes led a pretty exciting life ripe for cinematic treatment. Director Max Ophuls took up the challenge in what would be his last film and the only one in colour and Cinemascope. When Lola Montes was released in 1955, the critics savaged it causing the film's producers to panic and re-edit it. The film did have its admirers, chief among them filmmaker Francois Truffaut and critic Andrew Sarris. By 2008, Lola Montes was restored to Ophuls' original intentions and digitally remastered to its original glory, preserving its vibrant colour scheme.

The first disc includes an audio commentary by film scholar Susan White, author of The Cinema of Max Ophuls. She states that Lola Montes is not a film for everyone because of the unusual attention to style. She discusses the odd casting of Martine Carol and what she brought to the film. White does an excellent job of analyzing the film's style and what it means in relation to the characters and the story. She also sheds light on the film's rocky production. This is a very informative track full of insight into the film and the people that made it.

The second disc starts with "Cineastes de Notres Temps," an episode of the French television series featuring several of Ophuls' collaborators, many of whom worked on Lola Montes. The film's cinematographer talks about the director's love of movement. In fact, everyone talks about his working methods and obsession with movement within film.

"Max by Marcel" is a 2009 short film by Marcel Ophuls (Max's son) where he talks about his work on the film as an assistant director. Marcel interviews a few people who also worked on the film. The producers did not like the footage Ophuls was shooting forced Martine Carol and the use of colour and Cinemascope on him.

"Martine Carol Hair Tests" features silent footage of the actress showing some of the fantastic hairstyles she sports in Lola Montes.

Finally, there is the rerelease trailer.

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Art of Flight DVD and Blu-ray with FREE NowHere Snowboard DVD ($30 Value)

Best movie I have seen in quite some time. Looked ridiculous in it's full 1080p glory on my projector. Even with mediocre conditions in some of the locations they brought this film together with creative camera work, a lineup of great riders, and dialogue to keep it emotionally available. I cannot watch Art of Flight enough!

I had this DVD and lost it and was determined to buy it again. I could watch this video everyday. It was shipped and at my door within a couple days. Perfect timing!

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Good flick. The movie came with an extra snowboard DVD and a bunch of stickers that I wasn't expecting...l super cool

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I watched this movie a million times, it is definitely one of my top snowboarding movies. The effects and the soundtracks were amazing!

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Magnolia (2010)

There have been many terrific reviews written by other Amazon members that go into great detail about why this film was fabulous or why it worked or didn't. So I won't waste time boiling down all of the stories going on in this film again.

"Magnolia" is a near masterpiece...

The reasons it was a box office dud are too numerous to mention, but they run the gamut from its confusing title -to the decision to keep superstar Tom Cruise's name in the background -to the bad-worth-of-mouth recorded by rating services which survey people looking for conventional narratives and resolutions as they walk out of theaters.

I see 50 to 60 films a year (and not for a living), and I avoided "Magnolia" out of fear. Fear of wasting time, more important than wasting money. And another concern was the film's controversial resolution, the critical element that determines the success or failure of most movies with a mass audience. Now that I've seen "Magnolia" on video and have finally been able to philosophically, intellectually and logically string together its elements, there is no doubt that this is one of the most wonderful accomplishments on film ever made. "Magnolia" takes you on a journey whereby a master story teller challenges you to hang onto a breathtaking ride of images, content and music, and find the thread that strings everything, including the last 20 minutes...together in a way that makes coherent sense.

Yes, the point of the movie is that there are things that defy scientific logic. "Magnolia" tackles this premise and applies it to human behavior in a dazzling kaleidescope of aural, verbal and visual montages -which make it IMPOSSIBLE -to stop this film to come back to later. You're pulled into the tornado, wondering how's it going to end?

This film is worth BUYING, especially with all of the extras on DVD. But it's also worth "previewing." I won't lie to you. A conventional audience might not like "Magnolia's" structure and its last 20 minutes. But the rest of it is hands down wonderful. I guarantee you will enjoy it. The acting, the story, the dialogue are consistently mesmerizing, from start to finish. I can't guarantee you will agree with the cosmic, unexplainable force that joins everything together in the end. Personally, I would have chosen something less comical -and saying "frogs falling from the sky" doesn't spoil the point of the movie even though I would have preferred huge hailstones on a July afternoon in California. The controversial decision to visualize what for most of the movie is abstract -is the root of why I think the film is misunderstood by some -and hated by others.

Yet I believe "Magnolia" is a fabulous film. Whether you like the film on the whole or not, I guarantee that you won't be bored, which is the curse of all lousy movies. Everything about "Magnolia" is mesmerizing. And if the resolution seems initially a bafflement, if you think about it some more, everything will make sense. You will find that things that seem visibly ridiculous or irrational are no more or less the same as the "unscientific randomness" of human behavior that is TOTALLY PLAUSIBLE.

In sum, see this, rent this, buy this -but don't dismiss or ignore "Magnolia" -it's 99 7/8ths the work of a great young master.

There are scenes, and lines, in Magnolia that will stay with me for the rest of my life. The narrator saying periodically "And the book says, we may be through with the past, but the past ain't through with us." Aimee Mann singing "Wise Up" and "Save Me". Policeman Jim Kurring saying "Sometimes people need a little help. Sometimes people need to be forgiven. And sometimes they need to go to jail. But if you can forgive someone, well, that's the tough part. What can we forgive? Tough part of the job. Tough part of walking down the street." This is the most deeply human movie I have ever experienced.

If you can appreciate that a movie can touch your heart, can be something more than just simple entertainment, and can actually say something both simple and profound about the human condition, then you will love Magnolia. It is not easy watching. It is at turns foul-mouthed, confused, chaotic, irrational, depressing, uplifting, unrealistic, too realistic, unpredictable, heavily symbolic, violent, and unflinchingly, gut-wrenchingly honest in its portrayal of damaged characters trying to make sense of the wreckage of their lives. And yet, through all of this there is a beacon of hope and redemption that shines through, and most of the characters do find the strength to carry on. Watching Magnolia is like having an entire lifetime's worth of powerful emotions crammed into a three hour movie. If you have an open mind, and an open heart, you must see this movie. I have a hard time imagining how anyone will ever be able to make a better one.

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I work at one of the few theaters which had the opportunity to play the new film by writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson: Magnolia. When selling tickets and people ask me, "what is this Magnolia movie about?" I reply, "It's a story of chance and coincidence in the San Fernando Valley with a romance at its heart." This is rather vague and broad, but it is intriguing to the moviegoers. I do warn them that Tom Cruise's character, Frank T.J. Mackey, has some very graphic and harsh dialogue, and that the running time is long, but I would say that ninety percent of the audience walks out happy having seen such a beautiful film.

The film follows eleven characters through one rainy day which culminates in a sequence so forceful that you feel just as physically and mentally drained as those inside the celluloid. The eleven characters all branch off from an old man dying of cancer named Earl Partridge (Jason Robards) who lays in a bed through the whole movie. He is married to Linda (Julianne Moore) and is looked after by nurse Phil Parma (Phillip Seymour Hoffman). Earl's last wish is to speak with his son, Frank (Cruise).

Earl is also the executive producer of "the longest running quiz show on television: What Do Kids Know?" The TV game show is at an exciting point in its run for a new group of "Kids" led by Stanley Spector (Jeremy Blackman) is close to breaking the record for consecutive wins held by former quiz kid Donnie Smith (William H. Macy). Jimmy Gator (Phillip Baker Hall) is the host who is also dying of cancer. He has a wife, Rose (Melinda Dillon), and an estranged daughter of his own: Claudia (Melora Walters).

Claudia is addicted to cocaine and listens to her music way too loud. Her neighbors call the cops and Officer Jim Kurring (John C. Reilly) is sent to her door and they subsequently flirt which leads to a date. It is their romance which I feel is central to the film.

The eleventh character does not have nearly as much screen time as the previous ten, but is the most important character of all. He is Dixon (Emmanuel Johnson), the candy selling, ten year old "rapper" who drops clues as to what might happen in an early freestyle flow.

What does happen is a painfully brilliant and heartbreaking story of love, coincidence and redemption. There are many double stories like in King Lear: the two dying fathers with estranged children; both fathers have people who work for them who love them even more than their own family; we also see the young and old versions of a child genius showing how the present parental mistreating will affect him in the future; and there is a set of designated caregivers (the cop and the nurse), who echos Lear's fool.

The whole film is told through constant cross cutting between stories and interactions. For the first two thirds of the film there is always some form of music the pictures are set to, be it the score or rock songs. The director has learned a lot of his show-offy technique from Martin Scorsese and Robert Altman; he has Scorsese's eye and ear for mood setting music and Altman's grand scope and vision-a great foundation for a director. In his previous film, Boogie Nights, the director just seemed to be quoting those two, but in this present film, he has found his own style and rhythm. His ear for dialogue is great, he elicits great performances from his actors and knows how to make every minute count. A running time of 180 minutes is pretty steep but it flew right by. And if asked, I would not know where to cut the film. Paul Thomas Anderson is completely enamored with everything in this film-his story, his actors and his own filmmaking (the camera in particular).

Roger Ebert refers to the movie as "operatic." I can see where he is coming from, its ambition and length are operatic and there is the incessant use of music in the background, sometimes drowning out the dialogue so we only hear phrases and have to read lips. I would refer to the film as rhapsodic, ecstatic in the act of filmmaking and storytelling, coming to peaks just short enough not to peak too early and eventually reaching the ultimate climax like a great jazz song. All this to tell us you can't really plan ahead because you don't know what will happen. It also reminds us that sometimes plans work out and you should just go with it like when Claudia kisses Jim upon returning from the bathroom and said, "I'm glad I did that, I needed to do that."

I'm glad Mr. Anderson make this film. It showed me that I should remember the small things, that love isn't as hard as it may seem to find, and that I need to know somebody loves me back and I should accept their love. This may sound like the lovelorn teenager in me, but I feel it to be true. This is my kind of romance film.

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Magnolia is one of those films where less would have been more. In attempting to do so much, the film actually suffered from excessive brilliance. Paul Thomas Anderson gives us a powerful auteur piece that succeeds on most levels, but comes up short of its true potential.

The story follows one day in the lives of nine major characters and a host of minor ones whose lives are loosely connected to one man by various threads. Anderson does inspired work, giving us deep character development for each of the nine. Many themes run through the work, but the most pervasive is that of guilt and remorse. Moreover, almost every effort at atonement was rejected or thwarted in some way, evoking great pathos and a sense of despondent fatalism. This is clearly some of the best and most thought provoking dark writing ever done.

From a directorial standpoint, the film was a magnificent display of directorial virtuosity. Anderson handled scenes, actors and visual details with the flair of a maestro. The swirl of scenes from character to character, the use of the camera and music, the juxtaposition of scenes, everything was superbly done. Yet, the whole was less than the sum of the parts due to Anderson's inability to let go of elements that encumbered the film (an irony since one of the main themes of the story was about being able to let go).

Michaelangelo once commented that inside every block of marble, there is a masterpiece, and the sculptor needs only cut away the right pieces. Editing is one of most excruciating tasks of an auteur since each excision discards part of his soul. However, stoical editing is the area that differentiates great writer/directors from the good ones.

This film had everything necessary to be one of the truly great films of our times, but it suffered from excess. There were too many characters. The story would have lost almost nothing by eliminating Donnie (William Macy), Officer Jim Kurring (John C. Reilly) and Claudia (Melora Walters). These characters really didn't add that much to the philosophical points being made in the film and made the film unwieldy. This would have trimmed forty-five minutes to an hour from the film and turned the focus more on the relationship between Earl Partridge (Jason Robards) and his son Frank (Tom Cruise) that was the very best element of the film.

Also, Anderson went overboard on the profanity. I am no prude in this regard. I believe that profanity adds realism to a film because people are frequently profane in real life. I disdain the self-righteous prigs who are offended by it. However, overuse of any device to the extent that it starts to burden the story ultimately detracts from it. Anderson crossed that line. It seemed like he was trying to set a record for frequency and volume of vulgar expletives. If all the profanity were edited out, the film would have been 30 minutes shorter and Julianne Moore would have had about five lines.

Finally, the plague of the frogs taken from Chapter 8 of Exodus was ill advised, as was the chorus of song by all the major characters at their point of greatest despondency. Anderson was trying to make important points with both of these devices, but in the process, they trivialized an exceptionally powerful drama to the point of eye rolling incredulity.

Anderson was so uncompromising about every detail of his artistic vision that he missed the Big Picture (pun intended). The final version that was released would have been better released later as the director's cut. If Anderson had edited the theatrical release effectively, he could have had it both ways. He could have had a commercial success, critical acclaim, and he still could have given people an opportunity to see his entire vision.

As to the acting, this is probably the best ensemble performance I have ever seen. Tom Cruise was nominated for a best supporting Oscar and much as I love Michael Caine and his performance in "The Cider House Rules", this was no contest. Cruise was electrifying. This was one of his best performances ever. I also thought Jason Robards' performance was worthy of supporting actor nomination. He was tremendous as the dying patriarch. The rest of the cast was phenomenal without exception.

It is easy to understand why this film failed at the box office (at $23M, it grossed $14M less than its $37M budget). It was far too abstruse, intense, dark, philosophical and wry (not to mention lengthy) to have popular appeal. Of those who actually saw it, most either loved it or hated it. I must admit to feeling both emotions. I loved its genius but I hated that its final form didn't do that genius justice. Thus, I rated it an 8/10. It will undoubtedly become a cult classic rather than the true classic it could have been.

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Strange things happen in life; random occurrences sometimes so bizarre that the reality of it is often stranger than fiction, things one would say could only happen in a movie, and if they did, you wouldn't believe it. But then again, maybe those things happen in movies because they actually do happen in real life. And when they do, is it fate, or coincidence? Are these "random" acts isolated, or merely pieces of some larger, synchronistic puzzle that somehow fit together in the end? Thought provoking questions for the ages, some would say, proficiently addressed here by writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson in his discursively brilliant film, "Magnolia." Anderson puts the lives of a diverse cross-section of individuals and seemingly unrelated incidents under the microscope for an examination of these random acts and coincidences, from which he ultimately draws some conclusions about providence and happenstance. What he finds is fraught with irony and underscored by the notion that what happens to one must and does, in fact, effect another sooner or later, for better or worse. All of which serves to point out that no man stands alone; in the end, bills come due and must be paid. We must all face the consequences of past decisions and actions, at which time the relevance of the irrefutable symbiotic nature of Man comes so vividly into play, wherein dissimilar individuals may reap the benefits of simply being a part of the community of Humankind. Or then again, perhaps not. The story Anderson weaves is fast-paced, sometimes frantic, and thoroughly engrossing, achieving levels of emotional intensity that are at times remarkable. The quick pacing of the film belies the gradual way the story comes together to form the tangible connections derived from the intricacies of the plot. It's a dynamic piece of filmmaking, extremely well written and delivered by Anderson and his superb cast. There are a number of memorable performances here, among them Tom Cruise, who plays Frank T.J. Mackey, a self-styled guru of the "men's movement," whose teachings are anathema to feminists everywhere. It's an intense performance (for which he deservedly received an Oscar nomination), quite unlike anything he's done before, and possibly his best work since "Rain Man." Other notable performances are turned in by William H. Macy, as "Quiz Kid Donnie Smith," the once gifted youth who emerges dysfunctional in adulthood, and by John C. Reilly, as Officer Jim Kurring, a caring individual with a truly benevolent nature. But the most superlative performance of the movie is given by Philip Seymour Hoffman, as a male nurse named Phil Parma. His sensitive, subtle portrayal of this caretaker to dying man Earl Partridge (Jason Robards), is delivered with nuance and incredible depth, and provides some of the most poignant moments in the film. While taking nothing away from Cruise, who was outstanding as well, Hoffman is the one who should have been nominated, moreover, should have won, the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his work here. A performance just doesn't get any better-or more real-than this, and it is unacceptable that it should not be recognized as such. Rounding out what is, in essence, an ensemble cast, are Philip Baker Hall (Jimmy Gator), Julianne Moore (Linda Partridge), Melinda Dillon (Rose Gator) and Melora Walters (Claudia Wilson Gator). One of the best films of 1999, "Magnolia" conveys a moral without moralizing, is rich in metaphor and altogether captivating, with an ending that may take you aback, if indeed, you haven't been paying close attention (there are at least two clues during the film, admittedly obscure, but there nevertheless). It is intense, unremittedly so, and may leave you breathless and pondering the mysteries of life; but this is filmmaking at it's best, and especially for avid movie-watchers, one that absolutely must not be missed.

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