Better than MATER AND THE GHOSTLIGHT and equal to MIKE’S NEW CAR and JACK-JACK ATTACK, BURN•E is a new short inspired by a Pixar animated feature. Featured on the WALL•E DVD, the short is similar to THE INCREDIBLES’s inspired JACK-JACK in that the story runs parallel to the action of the feature film. In BURN•E, we learn that the little repair robot, who is accidentally locked outside the spacecraft in the feature, suffered many inconveniences at the hands of the little trash droid that could.

Through BURN•E’s adventures in repairing a broken light post, the Pixar animators prove once again why they’re the best. Though the story relies heavily on sections of WALL•E, director Angus MacLane, who served as a directing animator and storyboard artist on the feature, weaves together the original material and WALL•E cut scenes effortlessly. The short’s original character animation with BURN•E and Supply-R is cute and funny. Each of the gags is crafted around character, making them all the more humorous and heartwarming. We come to care for this little robot whose just trying to do his job. There is a real humanity to this non-human in how he gets dejected and then elated when things finally seem to be going his way. And Supply-R actually reminded me of a teacher I once had, she would always give me attitude when I said it wasn’t my fault.

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Out of all the Pixar shorts inspired by one of their features, this one is the best thus far. Utilizing various animation styles from 2D to 3D to stop-motion, this “educational” production features RATATOUILLE’s Remy and Emile informing the audience about the many great things the rat has brought to the world. Just wait till you see how they spin the Black Death.

Not that folks watch animated shorts for education, but I found myself learning while having a great time at the same time. This reminded me of the Disney educational shorts of the 1940s, only funny. We learn how rats were exulted in some cultures and were chic pets in others. The Black Death is told from a rat’s point of view, while Remy chronicles the migration history of the black and brown rats. The positive spin on the rat’s history with lab experiments is a bit of a whitewash from a PETA perspective, but the human benefits can’t be denied.

Director Jim Capobianco came up with the idea when he began compiling all the rat facts they had gathered for the DVD. The facts aren’t just presented in a stuffy way, but woven together with style and wit. If you’ve seen the production art for the feature, you’ll get an idea of most of the 2D animation look, which has a 1950s UPA flat style. When the style does change, it’s done in a humorous way, such as a nice two-bit game gag. If school was as fun as this short, kids would certainly know a lot more about the rat and Mars and history in general.

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In 2004, Danny Boyle directed one of the most charming family films in ages called MILLIONS. Now he has another film with million in the title and it’s as equally charming. Mix Charles Dickens with the Brazilian gangster film CITY OF GOD and sprinkle a Bollywood epic all over it and you’ll get a sense of the flavor of this film.

Jamal Malik (Dev Patel, TV’s SKINS) is on the verge of winning 20 million rupees on the Indian version of WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE? However, because he is a poor boy from the streets, the arrogant host Prem Kumar (Anil Kapoor, TAAL) is convinced the young man is cheating. So a police inspector (Irfan Khan, THE NAMESAKE) uses some harsh interrogation techniques to force out a confession. When Jamal proclaims that he knew the answers, we flashback to his childhood, learning how it was written that his life experiences would lead up to this defining moment in the spotlight.

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Watchmen continues to be the most buzzed about film.

Oh what a difference a couple weeks and a Pixar and a WATCHMEN trailer make. Because it’s up to me, I’ve decided that the rules I set forth when starting this column have been thrown out the window. Buzz is buzz and it doesn’t matter when the film comes out. It also makes it easier to make this column a weekly venture. I will try to refrain from buzzing about films that are not in production, because you never know about those films. So lets get to the films you can count on being featured on my most anticipated film list for both the Winter/Spring and Summer editions.
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Companion DVDs to feature films, which either launch the Tuesday before the film’s theatrical release or day-and-date with the film on DVD, have become increasingly popular, allowing fans more adventures with often supporting characters. Now in conjunction with the KUNG FU PANDA DVD release, DreamWorks has given fans a 20+ minute short chronicling the origins of the Furious Five told to a class of kung fu students by kung fu mega-fan Po.

In the scenes with Po and the kids, the animation again is CG, but the backstory tales are in the same 2D animation style as the opening sequence of the feature. Each tale teaches the kids an important lesson of kung fu. Mantis’ impatience leads him into a trap. Viper, as a young snake, shows her kung fu master father what a fangless little one can accomplish. Crane wasn’t always viewed as a master, especially as a scrawny kid in kung fu school. As an orphan, Tigress struggles with those afraid of her anger. Monkey didn’t start out as a hero either, but with help from Oogway he learns to put his painful past behind him.

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Bond is back in the franchise’s first straight sequel. This film picks up right where the last one left off with a dizzying car chase sequence. Those who did not see CASINO ROYALE might be lost from the start in this adrenaline-high action flick. Bond fans looking for a lighter installment will be disappointed, but those who fancy the edgier Bond films such as FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE or FOR YOUR EYES ONLY will really enjoy how the franchise is slowly developing the character.

At the end of CASINO, Bond (Daniel Craig) sought revenge on those that killed his beloved Vespa by gunning for secret organization bigwig Mr. White (Jesper Christensen, ITALIAN FOR BEGINNERS). MI6 head M (Judi Dench, MRS. BROWN) is concerted that 007 is now blinded by rage and will go to any extreme to find those behind the conspiracy. Following leads, he trails environmental exec Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric, THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY), whom is involved in a shady deal with exiled Bolivian general Medrano (Joaquin Cosio).

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If you’re the kind of person who would like Halloween to be everyday then This Weekend’s Film Festival is just right for you. But it will also provide thrills, chills and fun for everyone as we look at paranormal investigations on film. HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY, which hit DVD this week, is the inspiration. We have mutants investigating mutants. Psychics awakening a haunted house. A desperate mother calling on paranormal experts for help. Scientists saving NYC from ghouls and one giant sugary treat. And we have the mother of all horror films. Prepare to laugh and cringe.

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One of the cleverest comedies to come out of the ’80s, Ivan Reitman’s mix of poltergeists and punchlines has become an iconic film of its era. Written by stars Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, the story has fun with the supernatural and those that would investigate it. Its trio of central scientists is not the typical image of world-saving heroes, but that’s kind of the point.

Dr. Peter Venkman (Bill Murray, STRIPES), Dr. Raymond Stantz (Aykroyd, DRAGNET) and Dr. Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis, BABY BOOM) have been studying fringe science for years. Their controversial areas of expertise have resulted in them being kicked out of the university right as they make a major breakthrough in parapsychology. Out of work, the threesome decides to go into private business as ghostbusters, exterminators for spectral pests. It seems something big on the paranormal front is brewing in New York City. One of their first clients is the pretty orchestra performer named Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver, ALIEN), who experience strange phenomena in her high-rise apartment. Turns out the ancient god Gozer (Slavitza Jovan, TAPEHEADS) is about the return and wants to wipe out the city.

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This is the scariest movie ever made. It still retains its power to creep me out after so many viewings. Why is this of all the horror films so haunting? It’s the balance between the real world and the fantastic. Oscar-winning writer William Peter Blatty and director William Friedkin paint a normal world that we recognize and then let the devil creep into the shadows and our private spaces.

The story begins in Iraq where the elderly Father Merrin (Max von Sydow, THE SEVENTH SEAL), encounters an ancient evil. The fear on his face makes us uneasy. Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM) is an actress working in Georgetown, where she lives with her daughter Regan (Linda Blair, AIRPORT 1975). When Regan gets ill, Chris takes her to all the best doctors, but they’re stumped. Meanwhile, Father Karras (Jason Miller, 1984’s TOY SOLDIERS) is struggling with a crisis of faith, due to the passing of his mother. When a freakish death occurs, Lt. Kinderman (Lee J. Cobb, 12 ANGRY MEN) calls on the priest for advice. At the same time, Chris is becoming increasing furious with her daughter’s doctors who suggest that she might consider requesting an exorcism for Regan.

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THE TENANT was Roman Polanski’s follow-up to CHINATOWN. When it debuted at the Cannes Film Festival people stampeded the theater to see it. Falling post murder of his wife Sharon Tate and preceding his arrest for unlawful sexual knowledge of a minor, the film takes on more significance the more you know about the filmmaker. This is why I believe it gets so much praise from certain circles. It’s a Polanski film; it must be good. It’s similar to REPULSION and ROSEMARY’S BABY; it must mean something. So why did I get the feeling throughout that the emperor was not wearing any clothes?

Polanski plays Trelkovsky, an unassuming French citizen whom really feels his otherness via his Polish accent. There is an apartment shortage in Paris and he bargains with the owner of one building, a man by the name of Monsieur Zy (Melvyn Douglas, BEING THERE), to rent the apartment of a woman who recently tried to commit suicide by jumping out the window of her room. Feeling guilty, Trelkovsky goes to visit the dying woman Simon in the hospital where she lies in bed bandaged head to toe. There he meets her friend Stella (Isabelle Adjani, 1979’s NOSFERATU), who can’t understand why she would have tried to kill herself. Over time, Trelkovsky becomes more and more paranoid that all the other tenants are trying to force him to commit suicide as well.

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