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Gritty and powerful are the best adjectives to describe this movie. The film is a dramatization of the hideous events that transpired on January 30, 1972 in Derry, Northern Ireland, when British troops opened fire on a crowd of Irish marchers, killing 13 people and injuring 14, one of which succumbed to his injuries later. Some of the soldiers were later decorated by the British royalty.

The central character is Ivan Cooper, the Protestant Stormont Member of Parliament, who organized the march. Director Paul Greengrass (THE THEORY OF FLIGHT) uses a documentary-like style to its fullest extent. The viewer is given snippets of scenes setting up the planning of the rally on both sides, leading to the dreadful finale. The style is bold and striking and adds to the power of the whole film. One feels like an eyewitness. Greengrass is obviously leaning toward an Irish point of view, but the raw feel of the style makes its argument so convincing.

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I read a lot of the public’s reviews of movies on IMDB.com. The first review listed for PUMPKIN loathes it. That person called it the worst movie of the year. You may hate it also, but I think it’s one of the best. Some films that skirt the edge will get mixed reactions, especially if people just don’t get it. The movie is a cross between HAROLD & MAUDE and a John Waters film (POLYESTER). It’s not subtle and by no means is it PC about its subject matter.

The film follows super peppy sorority member, Carolyn McDuffy (Christina Ricci, SLEEPY HOLLOW) as she and her sorority sisters plan how they’re going to win Sorority of the Year. They talk about how they desperately need to recruit the pretty “black” girl and the white looking “Filipino” girl because the Greek council likes diversity. But the crowning moment is their choice of charity work — coaching handicapped and retarded kids for the Challenged Games. Carolyn doesn’t like the idea at all. She is assigned Pumpkin Romanoff (Hank Harris, MERCURY RISING), a wheelchair bound boy who can barely talk. At first, Carolyn is completely disgusted with Pumpkin because he makes her feel so uncomfortable. But soon enough she starts to like him, even setting him up on a double date with her and her big-man-on-campus, tennis star boyfriend Kent Woodlands (Sam Ball, THE LAST CASTLE).

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Well my top ten list has changed so much since a sent it out in January and now that I’ve seen this film, we have a new #1. I was simply blown away. Hayao Miyazaki is quickly becoming a director that I eagerly await seeing what he will do next. PRINCESS MONONOKE was my favorite film of 1999 and I couldn’t even imagine Miyazaki making a film to match it, but he did. In some ways, SPIRITED AWAY is better, but it’s like picking the best of any great director who does diverse work. MONONOKE was one of the best action/adventure/fantasy films I’ve ever seen, while SPIRITED AWAY is one of the best children’s fantasy films I’ve ever seen.

The story follows Chihiro (Daveigh Chase, THE RING), a spoiled little brat who doesn’t want to move to a new home with her parents. On moving day, her father (Michael Chiklis, TV’s THE SHIELD) takes a wrong turn and ends up in a deserted village. Chihiro’s father and mother (Lauren Holly, DUMB & DUMBER) wander into a restaurant and before long are wolfing down food. As the sun sets, they turn into pigs and Chihiro finds herself stuck in the town, which is a recreational spot for spirits. She soon receives the kind help of the mysterious and magical Haku (Jason Marsden, TV’s FULL HOUSE). To survive, she must get a job with the dubious witch, Yubaba (Suzanne Pleshette, TV’s BOB NEWHART) who owns the bathhouse.

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The best way to describe this film is by quoting its own tag line, “The motion picture with something to offend everyone!” This biting satire starts out lampooning Hollywood and the cultural differences between the British and Americans then spends the last two acts attacking the funeral business and polite society in general. The film mercilessly makes fun of everything and anything that it can sink its teeth into.

The film’s central character is Dennis Barlow (Robert Morse, THE EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES), a young wanna-be poet who moves to L.A. from England. He moves in with his gay uncle Sir Francis Hinsley (John Gielgud, ARTHUR), who ends up dying and leads Dennis to Whispering Glades funeral parlor where he meets the beautiful, naive make-up technician Aimee Thanatogenous (Anjanette Comer, THE PENNSYLVANIA MINERS’ STORY). Competing with Dennis for the affections of Aimee is effeminate, momma’s boy embalmer Mr. Joyboy (Rod Steiger, IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT). To get a picture of what Joyboy is like think of Bill Murray in ED WOOD.

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