Dan In Real Life

This movie was much better than I expected. For a change, all the funny bits are NOT in the previews. In fact, the best parts are not.

This movie got to me on a different levels. First, as a father of daughters. Second, as former single guy. Third, one familiar with large funky families.

This story keeps moving and goes in directions you may not expect. It is smart. It is funny. It hurts to watch certain scenes if they are things that have happened to you or people you know.

Steve Carell may be one of the most recognizable faces on American screens big and little. He is so funny because his timing is perfect, and he represents the "everyman" in each of us. He is very smart and knows how to make us laugh. He is the ultimate straight man. And I mean that in the comic sense.

If the conversation between Carell's character and his daughters (any time he talks to all 3) does not bring a tightness to your throat or a tear to your eyes, I'll refund the cost of your rental. If you are a parent of teens, especially daughters, you will totally relate to these conversations. They are totally real.

Juliette Binoche is as charming and desirable as she is in Chocolat if not just a wee bit older. The meeting between her character and Carell's should appeal to the romantics of both genders. Brilliant.

Dane Cook is the same doofy character he played in "Good Luck Chuck", but this time it actually works.

The relationships in this family should ring true with anyone who grew up in a big family.

Dianne Wiest and John Mahoney are perfect as the heads of this very interesting bunch of adults and their kids.

Watch this movie with someone who will play word games with you to see who does dishes.

No Country For Old Men

This is NOT your normal "Best Picture" winner. This is not even your normal movie. The characters are deeply disturbing. It is a brilliant piece of work. But, like other work of the Coen brothers, it is not for everyone. This movie will most likely leave you with more questions than it answers. If it does, then it has succeeding in defending itself. What other movie from last year are people still talking about?

Has crime and criminals changed so much over the years that there is no place any more for the techniques and attitudes of old-time law enforcement officers? This is just one of the questions posed by the Coens in this script.

When I said the characters were disturbing, I meant all of them. The good guys AND the bad guys here are all deeply flawed individuals. There are no white-hat-wearing heroes. The villain is as dark and fearsome as they come.

Javier Bardem truly earned his Best Supporting Actor Oscar here. Cold-blooded is the only way I can think to describe his character. The Sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones) trying to figure out what is going on in his county calls Bardem's character a ghost. But the string of dead people across West Texas is real enough. The paradox here is the common sense of the "old men" are not shared by the new techniques of the new cops. Neither alone is enough to catch or hold the bad guy. He is too smart and too fast.

Josh Brolin is perfect as the Viet Nam vet living out his days in rural Texas. His instincts and skills keep him alive, and few steps ahead of the bad guy. But, it's not just the bad guy who is after him. No spoilers here.

I'm guessing you will not be happy with the ending of this movie. It is abrupt and at a very odd place. I even fast-forwarded through the credits to see if there was more movie after them. Nada. And this is where the real questions may begin for you as they did for me. What just happened? What does that mean? Can they really leave it at that?

Watch this movie with someone who does not need to tidy ending.

Farewell Sydney Pollack, and Thank You

Hollywood lost giant a today. Fans of the big screen lost a favorite saint. Sydney Pollack was a unique talent and gifted on both sides of the camera.

Six decades of work are rich in culture, humor, wonder, and romance. Thank you Sydney, for many, many hours of magic and imagination. We will never forget you.

Few other directors has as many movies on my list of personal favorites:

Jeremiah Johnson (1972)
The Electric Horseman (1979)
Out of Africa (1985)

Sydney Pollack was as big in small parts as he was in lead roles. He was Will's father in the Will and Grace TV series. He worked with Hitchcock and was in a few Twilight Zone episodes. He did westerns, medical dramas, comedies, and thrillers. Few in Hollywood have worked with as wide a range of big names as Sydney Pollack.

Farewell Sydney, and thank you!

Four Brothers

This story runs deeper than your average revenge pic. There are plot and character twists that make it much more interesting AND much more fun.

Director John Singleton takes a great script and turns it into a well-told, smart, funny, sad, but also satidfying story. The plot and characters are do believeable one might expect this to be based on real events. No doubt there are real people behind everyone in this movie. There are no over-the-top, hard-to-swallow, performances.

You may not recognize Fionnula Flanagan's name, but I bet you've seen her face and heard her voice. She has been a familiar face on American TV since the days of Bonanza. For the fans of "Waking Ned Devine", she played the wife of the main living character. Brilliantly.

In this movie she plays the adoptive mother of children who are difficult to place in foster care. What she ends up with is four difficult boys who are not related to each other, but have this wonderful soul for a mother, in common. These same four "brothers" unite as adults to revenge the murder on their adoptive mother on the steps of her home.

Garrett Hedlund, Andre Benjamin, Tyrese Gibson, and Mark Wahlberg play the four bothers. The chemistry between these professionals is amazing on the screen. Not everyone could have pulled this trick off, but somehow these guys make it work.

The movie has a dark look, but that is no trick. Shot entirely on location during the winter, all the snow is real, including the scene on the frozen lake. Allegedly, outside temperature never rose above 24 degrees Fahrenheit during shooting. Detroit IS a cold place in winter.

The language is graphic as is the violence. In fact, I'm told some very big box office names turned down the roles because the script was too violent. Ouch. But along with that comes a great dose of family as each of the sons, in turns, have visions of the deceased mother.

If none of the above scares you off, watch this movie with someone with whom you have a bond but are not related to.

Beowulf: Director's Cut

This is not the Beowulf you read in school. It is more like the Beowulf in the comic book.

As Director Robert Zemeckis (Used Cars, Back to the Future series, and Forrest Gump) put it, "This story is about eating, drinking, fighting, and fornicating." I would call that description accurate.

The target demographic is clearly the male 23 to 33-year-old-video-game-playing public. If you are not in that group, you will most likely not enjoy this movie.

I watched it with a well-known Beowulf scholar, and she was at best, amused. The modernized puns overshadowed the mistakes made in the original Olde English. It was as much fun to watch the scholar as the movie.

The method for making this movie was very high-tech and cutting edge. Everything is computer generated. The main characters are in great detail, and everything else is more like Shrek.

So, let me recap. If you like video games you will probably like this movie. If you are a guy, you will probably like this movie. If you studied Beowulf in school and enjoyed it, you may enjoy this telling of an ancient story. Many parts are recognizable. If you are into CG movies, you will totally enjoy the extra features on this DVD telling how they did it.

If, on the other hand, you don't fit any of those categories, you may not enjoy this so much. Watch it with someone who is also from one of those categories.

Downfall

This movie is not for everyone. It is in German. It has subtitles. It is about Hitler's last few days. It is in black and white. It is based on accounts of those who survived. It is dark and without much humor. If you can get past all those things, it is very, very good.

Bruno Ganz reminds me of a late uncle of mine. The face, the voice, the hair, the way he carries himself brings brings back fond memories of my Uncle Buddy; my father's eldest brother. In this movie however, Bruno Ganz is almost unrecognizable. He plays Adolf so well it is almost disturbing. My uncle was nothing like Hitler despite his 20 plus years in working in California prisons as a welding instructor.

If you are a history buff, and enjoy fresh looks into old stories, this movie is a gem. Bringing to life this often-told story of how Hitler spent his last few hours has as many versions as there are storytellers. I'm no expert, but I have a feeling this one comes closer to reality than anything to date.

My interest in WWII started at a early age when I learned of my fathers involvement in North Africa and Italy. He fibbed about his age to go in the place of his older brother who stayed home to run the family farm. If you have seen the movie Tobruk, you've seen the story of my Dad's unit. That 1967 movie actually got my interest piqued in war movies. The fascination continues today. But, I'm getting off topic a bit.

"Downfall" or "Der Untergang" is a very surgical telling of a very unhappy story. It is instructional though for anyone who has to be a decision-maker. Any manager can learn some lessons here. Some things Hitler did were very smart, and some were very dumb.

Watch this movie with someone who will help you sort out the differences.

Into The Wild

What a masterpiece. Sean Penn is a genius. While you may not approve of the message, the ending, the skin or the language of this movie, you will most likely have to admit it is well-written and well told. It was not what I expected, and yet much more than I had hoped for.

Emile Hirsch does his best work to date, but raises my expectations for future work from him. Powerful acting is a gift. Please use it wisely. May you be as wise as this character.

This movie communicates some very strong messages. Many are a commentary on American society. You may, or may not, want to hear everything this young scholar has rumbling around in his head. But the story is very compelling.

If you like to do your travel and tourism via your TV, this movie will take you to many places in the US you might not otherwise see. The main character does a fantastic walk-about across America and gains wisdom and dept in the process.

At one very critical moment in the film, Hirsch's character pens the entire point of the movie. It has taken him 2 years and many bumps and bruises, both physical and emotional. Happiness is only real with it's shared.

Don't watch this movie with an animal rights activist. Don't eat dinner while watching the second half of this movie.

But, do watch it with someone who will enjoy the message, the scenery, and the wonderful Eddie Vedder soundtrack.

Madagascar

You may know it as the 4th largest island on the planet. You may know it to be home to 5% of the world's plant an animal species. You may know that Lemurs are a endemic to Madagascar. But you know know their parties rock?

Most of us have seen animals in a zoo. Some of us have seen animals in the wild. But, none of us have seen what goes on behind the scenes like it is depicted here, although a few of us have suspected it for a very long time.

Do you think animals who are born and raised in captivity long for the wild life? This movie answers things for us once and for all. And as some of us suspected, you can blame everything on the Penguins.

If you skipped this movie when it was in the theaters because it was a cartoon, I totally understand. I did too. If you skipped it because it looked silly, I get that too. So did I. It's okay, the it's just as much fun on DVD as it would have been. Perhaps more so unless you watch it with a room full of kids.

Imagine a bunch of bored, pampered New Yorkers sitting around wishing for a life out in the real world. Imagine they get a chance to spend some time out there. Wouldn't that be funny? Yes, it would. Now, put those New Yorkers in animal costumes and let the fun begin.

I enjoyed this movie far more than I expected. I don't often get a DVD from Netflix that I like so much I watch it twice before sending it back. This is one of the few. Yes, I watched it the second time to show it to someone who had not seen it, but I enjoyed just as much, if not more, for doing so.

Voices are provided by some classic New Yorkers who filled those costumes perfectly. But, the scene-thieves were the Penguins and the Lemurs. There is plenty of multi-level humor for both kids and adults, but please feel free to laugh at all of it. Make sure to watch the extras and the Christmas short. Good stuff.

Watch this DVD with someone who knows both coasts of this continent.

In The Valley of Elah

The Valley of Elah is where David defeated Goliath. Who is David in this movie and who is Goliath is still a bit unclear to me, but the story is referenced a time or two. I suppose on some level, the character of Tommy Lee Jones is David. Small by comparison. Simple and humble. His Goliath is a little more complex though.

Jones' character likens Goliath to a monster. When he tells the story to a young boy, it is intended to teach the boy how to face his "monsters". It may well be that the monster facing Jones' character is the truth. Or, it could be the Army. Or it could be the war in Iraq. I think he found if difficult to handle the truth.

His sons followed his example and served in the military. His youngest son served in Bosnia and then later in Iraq. Shortly after returning from Iraq, the son disappears. Was he AWOL? Was he killed by drug gangs? Was he lured away by a woman? Few clues are left behind. Seemingly.

Charlize Theron is almost unrecognizably thin in her role here a the only local police detective who helps Jones find his son. Once again she goes to great lengths to physically become her character.

Susan Sarandon plays the mother of the missing soldier. It is a small role, but heart-breaking. She is brilliant.

Many said this movie was anti-war and unpatriotic. Few characters in film history have been more patriotic than Jones' character. I did not find this movie either anti-war or unpatriotic. I did however, find it disturbing, and sad. Regardless of the truthfulness of the events in this movie, few can deny that soldiers today are far different than those of the greatest generation. War is different. The enemies are different. The problems are different.

This movie will most likely not change your opinions about Iraq, or Bush, or anything else. This is not a political movie. It is a gut-wrenching murder mystery. Opps, I just gave away one of the early questions. Sorry.

I can recommend watching this movie, because it is well-made. It is a very compelling story, even if you may not want to watch every scene. Some shots are pretty grisly. So, watch it with those who serve in your thoughts. Then go out and find a way to help them cope; either as a group or as individuals.

The Darjeeling Limited - Hated It

I'm guessing when this was pitched to studio heads, it sounded like a heart-warming comedy. Three American brothers embark on a journey of discovery in a far land after the death of their Father. They hope to meet up with their estranged Mother as well who now lives in that same land.

What fun this could have been. Language differences. Strange customs. Foreign foods. Ugly Americans trying to make their way in India. It could have been very very funny. But it was not.

Instead, we have an overly long, deadly slow (pun intended), story of three creepy, self-absorbed Americans who are easily manipulated by anyone.

The only interesting part was when they finally meet up with Mom, played by Angelica Houston. If I had been her character, I would have tried to get as far from her loser sons as possible too.

My recommendation is to NOT watch this with anyone you care about.

The Cider House Rules

Seven Nominations and two wins. I don't always agree with who gets an Oscar, and this is one of those cases. This movie deserves more. This movie is on my top-20 list.

Michael Caine carried this movie. With a cast of much younger, but no less talented, actors, his solid performance won Best Supporting Actor and wove their work together. His importance to this movie is similar to the fictional orphanage in the story.

Tobey Maquire (Pleasantville, Spiderman series, and Seabiscuit) is the main character and represents all the character evolution as he should. His work here shows a wider range than some of his other work, and he is totally believable.

The other main character in the story is Maquire's character's love interest. Charlize Theron (That Thing You Do, Sweet November, and In the Valley of Elah) plays one of her more loveable roles here. So many of her characters are off-the-charts rough around the edges to say the least.

Most of us did not grow up in an orphanage. This story will help us better appreciate what we had no many how bad we felt we had it. Watching this movie may motivate you to go out and adopt someone. Fair warning.

Another warning is in order. More than one abortion occurs during this movie. Not on screen mind you, but you know what happening when it happens. And a healthy debate ensues between the main male characters.

If you can handle that, you will should enjoy this well-written, well-acted, visual masterpiece.

Watch it with someone who loves children.

Batman Begins

With all the recent fuss over comic heroes on the big screen, I figure it's time to remind ourselves that this phenomenon is not new. Only 3 years ago Director Christopher Nolan brought his vision of a legendary character's somewhat humble beginnings.

Nolan does not have a lengthy resume, but it is, nonetheless very impressive with offbeat stories for us to sink our imaginations into. Memento. Insomnia. The Prestige. He is also the director who will bring "The Dark Knight" later this year. This tells you how

Christian Bale (Reign of Fire, The Prestige, and 3:10 to Yuma) is perfect as an emerging Batman, a role he will reprise for us in The Dark Knight. He is dark, brooding, understated, and feels like he has always been Bruce Wayne.

Michael Caine, the hardest working man in Hollywood for the last 50 years, does great homage to uber-cool butlers everywhere in his role as the always steady Alfred. Do you know Alred's last name? True Batman fans will. Caine is also in the upcoming Batman movie.

And what a super cast of supporting bad guys, weirdos, and Gotham regulars. Liam Neeson, Gary Oldman, Tom Wilkinson, Rutger Hauer, Morgan Freeman, and Ken Watanabe. Take your pick. One or two alone would be worth the watch.

And what is a good Batman story without pretty girls? Katie Holmes fills that bill well enough.

If you enjoyed Tim Burton's versions of Batman, you should also enjoy this one. I know the Burton purists will boycott me for saying so, but this movie is every bit as entertaining as the previous. I grew up reading Batman comics, and watching the old campy black-and-white series on TV. This movie was very satisfying to me personally.

Watch this movie with your childhood firmly attached.

Empire Falls

I promise I won't do this very often, but this one is so good, I need to recommend it to you all. And, some of you have asked me privately about other HBO projects, so I figure they are all fair game now. This was an HBO film that went to DVD.

Empire Falls was first a Pulitzer Prize novel by Richard Russo before he did the screenplay. I read the novel in 2002 and have not had a work of fiction toss me through so many different emotions since Les Miserables. There were times when I got so angry reading Empire Falls that I actually tossed the book across the room. Yeah, that's real mature. I know. Either way, I highly recommend both to you.

I'm guessing you won't recognize the name of the director, but I'll bet you know and love some of his work. Fred Schepisi has done a wide range of great movies. Roxanne with Steve Martin. The Russia House with Sean Connery. Fierce Creatures with John Cleese. Barbarosa with Willie Nelson. Fun fascinating stories.

Ed Harris (Enemy at the Gates, A Beautiful Mind, and Gone Baby Gone) leads this top-notch cast. If I start to list them and their work, we'll both be here too long. So let me just mention the main players: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Helen Hunt, Paul Newman, Aidan Quinn, Joanne Woodward, Dennis Farina, and William Fichtner. Three or four of those names might motivate you to watch this film. But, all of them in the same story makes for some Hollywood magic.

I you had parents, or if you are a parent, watch this movie.

If you have dreams you've yet to fulfil, watch this movie.

And, watch it with someone you can't afford to lose.

Saints and Soldiers

If you liked "Band of Brothers", you will most likely appreciate this story as well. Both are fact-based, and cover historical events.

This story is about a group of 5 American soldiers who get separated for US forces after the Malmady Massacre, and their journey back to Allied territory and safety. As in widely popular indy film, this project won over 10 awards at film festivals around the country.

Corbin Allred may not be a household name yet, but he has been in tons of things. From "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" to more TV episodes than I can count, he has made a solid career to support his first love - mountain climbing. In this movie he plays the heart and soul of the handful of soldiers who struggle against the winter weather, enemy army, and their fears, to get back to

Larry Bagby will most likely be familiar to the Buffy Vampire Slayer fans, but he too has done a respectable share of film and TV projects.

The group works together so well you wouldn't know none of the cast are major box office. They've all worked together on projects over the years, and than familiarity comes across well on the big screen.

I especially liked this movie because it is a departure from the normal WWII picture. It is not overly violent, graphic, gratuitous, or heroic. Nothing about war is glorified. The story is about characters and their plight. It is about personal internal battles not military skirmishes.

Watch this movie with someone who believes in angels.

Green Street Hooligans

British football (soccer) hooliganism is fairly akin to American gang society. Each "firm" has a military-like structure. One must be initiated in. Not all of it's activities are legal, and the only way out is incarceration or death. The only real difference is that one group centers it's actions around the most recent game and the other centers activities around, um, fund raising and discipline.

This movie is about one such firm, Green Street. It is about as authentic as us yanks could stand. If you want a peek into this subculture, this movie is a great primer.

German-born Writer & Director Lexi Alexander is as interesting a Hollywood character as you can find. She is a former world champ Karate and Kick-boxing champion who has dreams of being a film-maker. She worked as a stunt woman until getting her first work on screen. it was good enough to earn her an Oscar nom. I share all this to give some insight into why this movie is so intense. It comes from the gut of a director who is fearless and knows how to get what she wants.

That was way to much to say before getting to the actors or plot. Thanks for indulging me.

Elijah Wood (Avalon, LOTR series, and Everything is Illuminated) plays a Harvard student who is wrongly expelled. Having nowhere else to turn but his sister in London, he goes there to work out what to do next. While there, he gets caught up in the Green Street activities.

Claire Forlani (Meet Joe, and CSI series on TV) plays the sister.

Very few other cast members will be recognizable to us Yanks, but their work is solid and very satisfying.

Watch this movie with a plate of bangers and mash. Toss a pint as well if you must. And by all means, sing along.

Sneakers

What would attract 7 superstars, all who have either been nominated for or won Oscars, to work together on a comedy thriller? The budget and salaries is still, ironically, a secret, so we can't say it was the money. I'm guessing it was the story. This movie is an excellent example of what my little rant is all about - a good story well told.

If you did not see this movie back "in the day", I highly recommend renting it. Here's why in decreasing order of importance.

Oscar-winner Sidney Poitier (Blackboard Jungle, A Raisin in the Sun, and They Call Me Mister Tibbs) is not known as a comic actor. This is a rare performance and well worth watching.

Oscar-nominee River Phoenix (Running on Empty, Indiana Jones Last Crusade, and I Love You To Death) knew comedy and knew drama. His skills were beyond his age. This movie was one of his last before his death in 1993.

Oscar-winner Robert Redford (too many to list) plays a good guy who does bad things. Or is he a bad guy that does good things.? You decide.

Oscar-winner Ben Kingsley (Gandhi, House of Sand and Fog, and The Last Legion) is a wonderful bad guy. This role helped me totally see Kingley as someone other than Gandhi.

Oscar-nominee Dan Aykroyd (Blues Brothers series, Ghostbusters series, and Driving Miss Daisy) turns on his uber-geek conspiracy theorist side and never steals a scene, but "makes" every one he is in.

Oscar-nominee Mary McDonnell (Dances With Wolves, Independence Day, and Battlestar Gallactica series) plays well opposite all the above big boys. She is perfect.

There are too many other fun performances here to mention.

Watch this movie with someone who likes playing Scrabble.

American Ganster

If you have not seen this movie yet, please see it. If you lived in the 1970's, and remember it, you must seen this movie for a great flashback. If you saw this movie in the theater, you should rent it and watch the extended version on DVD. If you did not live in the 1970's you should see this movie to see what all the fuss was about.

Director Sir Ridley Scott add this masterful tale to his long list of creations and historical recreations (Blade Runner, Gladiator, and Black Hawk Down). He has a true gift to teaching a little bit of history while telling a good story. In fact, you will find none of his films on Yahoo's list of least historically correct movies.

Denzel Washington is perhaps the best of his generation. He can do it all, and make it look easy. The cool/smart character he played in "Inside Man" was on one side of the law, and the role he plays here is the same, but on the other side of the law. Denzel can play good guys, bad guys, smart guys, dumb guys, guys we love and guys we love to hate. THAT makes him a good actor. He has 2 Oscars to show for it, and nominations in 3 different decades. How many other working actors can claim that?

Russell Crowe recreates his LA Confidential role here, and there are no complaints from me. I have no problems with Australians playing American characters. For the record, I do have a problem with it going the other way around however. Crowe does a fantastic job here playing the "Boy Scout" cop, needle in the haystack of the 1970's NYPD.

The movie really is about these two totally different characters who's lives become entwined over the course of the journey. If it were not based on a true story, I would say a sequel were in order. I pride myself on being able to guess the ending of a good movie, and this one surprised me. If you can predict how it ends, and you didn't live it, see it already, or read the book, you should seriously consider writing screenplays.

Watch this movie with someone who remembers the 70's; right on?

Death at a Funeral

Not quite as charming as "Four Weddings and a Funeral", but perhaps as funny.

Director Frank Oz (Little Shop of Horrors, What About Bob, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) has done with this cast pretty mush what he would have done with his friends the Muppets. The result as very funny and just a little bit over the top. But I must say, I really liked this movie.

If you are a bit squeamish about funeral-themed movies, you may want to think again. Almost all the taboos are tread upon heavily. And, if you don't like potty humor, you may want to close your eyes and hears from time to time. Having said all that however, this is a very typical Brit humor dark comedy with some very respectable performances from actors you may recognize.

Most recognizable to Yank audiences would most likely be Alan Tudyk (3:10 to Yuma, Knocked Up, and the CSI TV series - but he will always be fondly remember in my house for his role in A Knight's Tale ala "Tandy Cakes?"). He is not one of the major characters here, but is outstanding as the funniest funeral attendee. As the fiance of the niece of the deceased (yes I included this line so I could make that rhyme) he gets accidently stoned and steals the show. Brilliant.

Lady Jane Asher should be a familiar face and voice to anyone who regularly watches BBC. I first fell in love with her in Disney's "Prince and the Pauper" back in 1962. It is her character's husband who has passed in this story, and has the most to learn.

Matthew Macfadyen (Pride & Prejudice's Mr. Darcy) is one of the son's and the dead man, and a quintessential straight-man. His character's brother is played by Kris Marshall (The Four Feathers, Love Actually, and 2004's The Merchant of Venice). These two gentlemen work together so well, you'd think they really were brothers squabbling at their father's funeral.

I could mention more, but there really are too many. Everyone is funny. Everyone is perfect.

Watch this movie with your strongest constitution and a healthy sense of humor.

Dedication

This movie is about overcoming disabling emotional problems and leading a semi-normal life. No. Wait. Let me try again. This movie is about how literary dedications can spark action on even the most socially bankrupt people. Well, that's not quite right either. How about - this movie is about the dark underbelly of the children's book industry. Okay, I give up. I'm not sure what this movie was about.

Tom Wilkinson (The Full Monty, Michael Clayton, and HBO's John Adams) is the glue that holds the cast and the story together. Yes, he plays another crazy guy similar to his character in Michael Clayton, but this one is a sex-obsessed illustrator of best-selling children's books. When he dies, the publishing company forces another illustrator on his writing partner.

The partner, played by Billy Crudup (Big Fish, Mission Impossible III, and The Good Shepherd) is, for the most part of the movie, totally without redeeming qualities. No doubt that is by design. As he begins to change, way too late in the story for my tastes, it is almost too total to be believed, and one wonders how long it will last. The abrupt ending is a bit unsatisfying too. But I did like that he was savvy enough to not use negative weapons to obtain his goal. Yes, I'm being vague on purpose in case you choose to see this movie.

Bob Balaban (Catch-22, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and the Seinfeld series), Mandy Moore, Dianne Wiest (Parenthood, The Birdcage, and Practical Magic), and even Peter Bogdanovich are featured in very supportive roles. But, there are no real likeable characters in this story.

The story is a bit along the lines of "Mozart and the Whale" and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". So, if you like those types of stories, you may enjoy this one too.

Watch this movie with an open mind and healthy dose of patience.

The Tao of Steve

I'm not sure which is more interesting; that Donal Logue (Sneakers, Blade, and Almost Heaven) pulls this movie off, or that this movie was made by a woman. Both are the case, and both ARE what make this movie more worth the watch.

Logue's character is a local loser who somehow quickly attracts, and as quickly loses interest in, women. He has a method. He calls it the Tao of Steve, but his character is named Dex. Steve McQueen is the uber-cool model for his personal laws of attraction. Logue's work here earned him a Special Jury Award in the 2000 Sundance festival.

Director Jenniphr Goodman has only this work on her resume, but it did earn her a Grand Jury Award nomination at the same Sundance festival. How she tells this story of boy-meets-many girls-and-loses-them is fascinating. I found myself actually feeling pity for Dex. I know too many guys like him. This movie has a much better ending that the guys I know.

If you like stories with character transformation, who doesn't, you may like this one. To what will a guy resort to win the heart of a woman he cannot have? That is most likely left unanswered, and this film does not give an exhaustive response.

Watch this movie with someone who will be patient still respect you afterwards.

Troy

Homer, not the one one married to Marge, has contributed to almost 100 years of great film. Consider the 1911 version of Odyssey, and all the versions since then. And please don't forget "Oh Brother Where Art Thou", perhaps the most creative and entertaining version. Now we have "Troy" from the great poem "The Iliad. David Benioff did a masterful job with the screenplay too. Let's not forget him.

German Director Wolfgang Petersen (Das Boot, In The Line of Fire, and The Perfect Storm) knows how to tell a well-written story. He knows how to keep us waiting for the next scene like a dog waiting for the toss of a favorite toy.

Brad Pitt (A River Runs Through It, Twelve Monkeys, and Fight Club) and Orlando Bloom (LOTR series, POTC series, and Elizabethtown) are clearly the big box office draw here, but the whole cast does an amazing job of keeping this ancient story a 'period piece'. If you like either of these actors, you will enjoy this movie. Both have meaty roles and play them well.

Eric Bana (Black Hawk Down, Finding Nemo's Anchor, and Munich) has one of the very best fight scenes in the last few years when his Hector goes up against Pitt's Achilles. I don't know how much practice it took, or how many takes, but it looks, sounds, and feels real.

You don't need to know the story behind this movie, but it helps. Everyone has heard of Achilles' Heel, and the oddly named Trojan Horse. Well, this is the story that put those phrases in our every day.

Watch this movie with someone who will enjoy the graphic violence as much as the poetry.