_*0 it was a bit bizarre and evil and i enjoyed it a lot ,  the characters in the show were great as well ,  and complimented one another well .  i was sorry to see it cut off .  .  i would have loved to see where it could have went . you found yourself leaning toward lucas buck the sheriff who had more secrets than anyone .  lucas was frightening and alluring .  and i would have liked to have seen more of him and how his character became .  i will however buy the show just to enjoy ,  it was great to something different on tv .  and paige turrco who was caleb's cousin ,  she was a big mystery as to where and what she meant to lucas .  its a shame it isn't around still .  .  or was never finished ,  i would have loved to see what would have happened . 
_*1 without peter ustinov and maggie smith ,  this could easily have been a turkey .  but they are brilliant .  ustinov is at his best ,  and for fans of maggie ,  it is great to see her in her early days ,  matching ustinov every step of the way for with and timing .  for englishmen in their fifties  ( and i am in that bracket )  ,  it is always entertaining to see glimpses of and hear sounds of the swinging sixties ,  and although this film spends a lot of time in offices ,  it has plenty of sixties nostalgia ,  including red buses ,  carnaby street ,  a song by lulu and a delicious shot up the micro-skirt of a waitress ,  the like of which england has never seen since in public places .  as an i . t .  engineer ,  i know that the computer hacking tricks are laughable ,  but they are not meant to be taken seriously .  nor are the wonderful stereotypes of italians ,  french and germans . 
_*2 butch the peacemaker ?  evidently .  after the violent beginning with spike ,  tom and jerry all swinging away at each other ,  butch calls a halt and wants to know why .  it's a good question .    " cats can get along with dogs ,  can't they ?  "  he asks tom ,  who nods his head in agreement .   " mice can get along with cats ,  right ?  "  jerry nods  " no ,  "  and then sees that isn't the right answer .   they go inside and butch draws up a  " peace treaty "   ( complete with professional artwork !  )  .  most of the rest ,  and the bulk of the cartoon ,  is the three of them being extremely nice to one another what a refreshing change-of-pace .  i found it fun to watch .  i can a million of these cartoons in which every beats each other over the head .   anyway ,  you knew the peace wasn't going to last .  a big piece of steak spells the death of the  " peace treaty "  but en route it was nice change and still had some of usual tom & jerry clever humor . 
_*3 somehow ,  this movie manages to be invigorating ,  bittersweet ,  and heartwarming at the same time .  stars like tony shalhoub  ( from providence )  bring the tale to life .  the story itself is inspiring .  we see a desperate ,  up-and-down life through the most innocent eyes imaginable :  a bird's .   paulie begins his life as a baby parrot given to a little girl  ( played by hallie eisenberg ,  also known as the pepsi girl )  with a speech impediment .  while she learns to speak correctly ,  so does paulie .  however ,  unlike most birds ,  he can speak and understand everything being said .  the military father doesn't like the bird ,  so he is sent to a pawn shop and bought by an aging artist ,  ivy .  she teaches him manners ,  etc .  ,  while traveling across the country to find paulie's owner .  the movie continues with several twists of fate ,  until paulie ends up at a laboratory where he is eventually hidden away in a basement ,  and found by a russian custodian ,  who is touched by the bird's story .  the plot is in keeping with the simple ,  metaphorical theme that language is a gift ,  and a curse .  i would like to say that the soundtrack is astounding .  a beautiful mixture of flute ,  digital base ,  and horns enhance the movie to the point of pure ecstasy .  the sweeping camera angles and breathtaking scenery beautify the story even more .  and ,  as a final remark ,  the puppetry is entirely believable .   ( unlike in star wars ,  where yoda resembles a muppet )  this film is one of my favorite movies ,  with the added remark that my wonderful parakeet of four years died recently .  overall ,  i give this movie **** out of four stars ,  two thumbs up ,  and a big hug . 
_*4 rachel mcadams .  cillian murphy .  wes craven .  the dream team .  this is one of the best thrillers of 2005 .  a great plot .  a great twist .  a great eye candy .  this is one of wes craven's greatest movies apart from  " scream "  and  " a nightmare on elm street "  .  this could be the best .  the plot is one of the best things about the movie and it is very simple .  lisa reisert  ( mcadams )  a struggling hotel manager ,  boards a late red eye back to la .  little does she know that she has been followed by jackson ripner aka jack the ripper  ( murphy )  .  they have a couple of drinks and end up sitting together on the plane .  later he reveals to her that he is an assassin who was sent to kill the secreteary of homeland security who is staying in lisa's hotel .  and what does this have to with lisa .  well ,  she would have to move his room to the top suite so they can bomb him ,  if she doesn't ripner will murder her father  ( brian cox )  .  the twist and bringing of the story really gives it the extra zing and the side characters and the side jokes really add to it .  overall ,  definitely one of the best thrillers of 2005 .  definitely worth the see .   3 1/2 out of 4 stars
_*5 halloween is not only the godfather of all slasher movies but the greatest horror movie ever !  john carpenter and debra hill created the most suspenseful ,  creepy ,  and terrifying movie of all time with this classic chiller .  michael myers is such a phenomenal monster in this movie that he inspired scores of imitators ,  such as jason vorhees  ( friday the 13th )  ,  the miner  ( my bloody valentine )  ,  and charlie puckett  ( the night brings charlie )  .  okay ,  so i got a little obscure there ,  but it just goes to show you the impact that this movie had on the entire horror genre .  no longer did a monster have to come from king tut's tomb or from dr .  frankenstein's lab .  he could be created in the cozy little neighborhoods of suburbia .  and on the night he came home .  .  . haddonfield ,  illinois and the viewers would never be the same .  there are many aspects of this movie that make it the crowning jewel of horror movies .  first is the setting .  .  . it takes place in what appears to be a normal suburban neighborhood .  many of us who grew up in an area such as this can easily identify with the characters .  this is the type of neighborhood where you feel safe ,  but if trouble starts to brew ,  nobody wants to lift a finger to get involved  ( especially when a heavy-breathing madman is trying to skewer our young heroine .  )  along with the setting ,  the movie takes place on halloween !  !  the scariest night of the year !  while most people are carving jack-o-lanterns ,  michael myers is looking to carve up some teenie-boppers .  besides the setting ,  there is some great acting .  jamie lee curtis does a serviceable job as our heroine ,  laurie strode ,  a goody-two-shoes high-schooler who can never seem to find a date .  however ,  it is donald pleasance ,  as dr .  sam loomis ,  who really steals the show .  his portrayal of the good doctor ,  who knows just what type of evil hides behind the black eyes of michael myers and feels compelled to send him to hell once and for all ,  is the stuff of horror legend .  however ,  it is the synthesizer score that really drives this picture as it seems to almost put the viewer into the film .  once you hear it ,  you will never forget it .  i also enjoy the grainy feel to this picture .  nowadays ,  they seem to sharpen up the image of every movie ,  giving us every possible detail of the monster we are supposed to be afraid of .  in halloween ,  john carpenter never really lets us get a complete look at michael myers .  he always seems like he is a part of the shadows ,  and ,  i think that is what makes him so terrifying .  there are many scenes where michael is partly visible as he spies on the young teens  ( unbeknownst to them )  ,  which adds to his creepiness .  if you think about ,  some wacko could be watching you right now and you wouldn't even know it .  unfortunately for our teenagers  ( and fortunately for us horror fans )  ,  when they find michael ,  he's not looking for candy on this halloween night .  . he's looking for blood .  finally ,  michael myers ,  himself ,  is a key element to this movie's effectiveness .  his relentless pursuit of laurie strode makes him seem like the killer who will never stop .  he is the bogeyman that will haunt you for the rest of your life .  so , if you have not seen this movie  ( if there are still some of you out there who haven't ,  or even if you have )  ,  grab some popcorn ,  turn off every light ,  pop this into the old dvd and watch in fright .  trick or treat ! 
_*6 with lots of sunshine ,  gauzy light and shadow filtering through windows and into rooms ,  tracking shots moving through crowds with hand-held camera ,  quick-paced editing and extreme close-ups here and there ,  the photography is the thing in this interesting ,  artistically done film .   the plot of this film starts out as a bit of fluff about a beauty contest .  the film begins on a warm sunday at the local swimming pool ,  where we meet the lovely lucienne aka lulu  ( played by louise brooks )  - a bit of a show-off in front of the gawking men by poolside ,  she soon decides to enter herself to represent france in the miss europe beauty contest ,  much to the chagrin of her very jealous ,  stick-in-the-mud fiancé  ( a pretty annoying fellow ,  really )  .  strutting down the runway the ten contestants display themselves in swimsuits ,  while the winner is chosen as the contestant who receives the longest applause  ( i was wondering ,  couldn't the girls just walk slower to prolong their length of time - and thus applause - on the catwalk ?  !  )  .  lulu is soon being chased by a prince and a maharaja ,  but her hot-headed beau doesn't like the attentions paid to her by other men or her adoring public ,  for that matter  ( i guess he just wants her in his house ,  cooking his meals ,  and staying out of sight ,  eh ?  !  )  .   louise brooks is beautiful and charming ,  her presence helps enhance this film ,  but it's really the way it is photographed that held my interest the most .  a bit distracting is the odd dubbed sound ,  which is a bit off .  the print on this version looked very clear and full of nice contrast though .  watching this i just tried to overlook the sound problems and watch the film visually ,  and i found the movie to be excellent ,  well worth seeing . 
_*7 this is one of my favorite mr .  motos ,  and i have seen them all .  as usual lorre is his charming self as the debonair mr .  moto .  lionel atwill plays a delightfully zany museum curator ,  the usual comic relief is quite funny here ,  and there are lots of suspects on whom to cast an eye .  it's fast paced and fun .   the archaeologist doesn't have quite the same flair as thomas beck ,  the usual second lead in these programmers ,  but he's adequate .  stepin fetchit is on board ,  and while he speaks in a stereotypical manner his lines are funny ,  not demeaning to his intelligence ,  and he actually saves the day in his brief time on screen . 
_*8 there are some things i will never understand ;  why underwear comes in packs of threes when clearly thats not enough is an example .  similarly ,  i will never understand this film ,  and that is brilliant .  if you approach this film expecting an actual movie ,  you might as well be approaching satan expecting a hug ;  although that may well be possible if you greet this film's satanic figures .  take pitch for instance ;  the most ineffectual ,  camp ,  unhellish portrayal of a devil since freddy mercury and wayne sleep joined forces to create a ten foot satan costume from red body paint and horns covered with condoms .  however ,  it does create some of the most hilarious moments of any film ever .  seriously ,  this is no understatement .  the same can be applied to every other character ,  bar the little girl who acts so sickly innocent she's probably overcompensating for some serious crime she's part of .  then again ,  if santa's inter-space recon station is real ,  there is no chance she could have avoided him this long .  put simply ,  if you haven't seen this movie ,  you cannot consider yourself a serious buff .  the achingly funny characterisation ,  acting ,  concept ,  and almost-under-the-radar racism makes this a must see above any film to date  ( if you're after pure laughter that is )  . 
_*9 this was my favourite film as a child ,  and i have been in the stage production a few times so it will always remain my favourite muscical and i doubt anybody could ever re-make the story of oliver twist on screen ,  any better than this one did .   my all-time favourite ''bad guy'' has to be oliver reed as bill sikes .  not only did he scare the life out of my when i watched it as a 6 year old ,  but now as a woman i can empathize more with nancys character ,  the bar maid/prostitute who helps oliver get the life he deserves .   jack wilde as the artful dodger ,  was fantastic ,  and i don't think anybody could ever out-do him ,  as the street-pocket picker ,  and best friend of fagin .  the music is fantastic ,  especially fagin's numbers ,  i'm also quite thankful they didn't give bill sikes a musical number ,  it wouldn't of worked with him being such a sinister character .   i think carol reed did an excellent job of nancy's sticky ending ,  keeping it a g rated movie by disguising her beating ,  but giving enough away to show the violence of bill towards her .    this movie is both charming ,  and charismatic as a musical sing-along ,  as well as being a moving drama that follows a young boy as he tries to find where he belongs in life . 
